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BY 


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AUTHOR  OF  "  IN  THE  VOLUME  OF  THE  BOOK," 
"out  OF  EGYPT,"  ETC. 


COPYRIGHT,  1893 

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CONTENTS 


IvKSSONS    AND     GOLDKN    TEXXS. 


ISRAEL    AFTER    THE    CAPTIVITY. 

First  Quarter. 

LESSON  PAGE 

I.— Jan.  1. — Returning  from  the  Captivity,     Ezra  i,  1-11.       1 

Golden  Text:  The  Lord  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity,  and 
have  compassion  upon  thee.— Deut.  xxs,  3. 

IT.— Jan.  8.— Rebuilding  the  Temple.     Ezra  iii,  1-13.      .     .    10 
Golden  Text  :  They  praised  the  Lord,  because  the  foundation  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord  was  laid.— Ezra  iii,  11. 

III. — Jan.  15. — Encouraging  the  People.     Hag.  ii,  1-9.      .    .     19 

Golden  Text  :  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in 
vain  that  build  it.— Psa.  cxxvii,  1. 

IV.— Jan.  22.— Joshua  the  High-priest.     Zech.  iii,  1-10.    .    .    27 

Golden  Text:  We  have  a  great  high-priest,  that  is  passed  into 
the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God.— Heb.  iv,  14. 

v.— Jan.  29.— The  Spirit  of  the  Lord.     Zech.  iv,  1-10.     .    .    35 

Golden  Text  :  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.— Zech.  iv,  C. 

VI.— Feb.  5.— Dedicating  the  Temple.    Ezra  yi,  14-22.     .    .    44 

Golden  Text  :  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me.  Let  us  go  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord.— Psa.  cxxii,  1. 

VII.— Feb.  12.— Nehemiah's  Prayer.     Neh.  i,  1-11 53 

Golden  Text  :  Lord,  be  thou  my  helper.— Psa.  xxx,  10. 

VIII.— Feb.  19.— Rebuilding  the  Wall.     Neh.  iv,  9-21.     .    .    .    G2 

Golden  Text:  We  made  our  prayer  imto  our  God,  and  set  a 
watch  against  them.— Neh.  iv,  9. 


IX.— Feb.  26.— Reading  the  Law.     Neh.  viii,  1-12. 


Golden  Text  :  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  wondrous 
things  out  of  thy  law.— Psa.  cxix,  18. 

X.— March  5.— Keeping  the  Sabbath.     Neh.  xiii,  15-22.  .    .    80 
Golden  Text:    Remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.— 
Exod,  XX,  8. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

LESSON  PAGE 

XI.— March  12.— Esther  before  the  King.     Esth.  iv,  10-17; 

V,  1-3 £9 

Golden  Text:  Judge  riahteously,  and  plead  the  cause  of  the 
poor  and  needy.— Prov.  xxxi,  y. 

XII. — March  19. — The  Vanity  of  Graven  Images.   Isa.  xliv, 

9-20.     {A  Missionary  Lesson.) 98 

Golden  Text:  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else,  there  is 
no  God  besides  me.— Isa.  xlv,  5, 

XIII.— March  26.— Review 107 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 

Second  Quarter. 

XIV.— April  2.— The  Afflictions  of  Job.     Job  ii,  1-10.  ...  108 
Golden  Text  :  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away; 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.— Job  i,  21. 

XV.— April  9.— Afflictions  Sanctified.     Job  v,  17-27.      .     .  118 
Golden  Text:   For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth.— 
Heb.  xii,  6. 

XVI.— April  16.— Job's  Appeal  to  God.     Job  xxiii,  1-10.  .    .  125 
Golden  Text  :  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now ;  but  thou 
Bhalt  know  hereafter.— John  xiii,  7. 

XVII. — April  23.— Job's  Confession  and  Restoration.     Job 

xlii,  1-10 133 

Golden  Text  :  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have 
seen  the  end  of  the  Lord;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of 
tender  mercy.— James  v,  11. 

XVIII.— April  30.— Wisdom's  Warning.     Prov.  i,  20-33.    .     .  142 
Golden  Text  :  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.— Heb. 
xii,  25. 

XIX.— May  7.— The  Value  of  Wisdom.     Prov.  iii,  11-24.  .     .  151 
Golden  Text:  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart;  and  lean 
not  unto  thine  own  understanding.—  Prov.  iii,  5. 

XX.— May  14.— Fruits  of  Wisdom.     Prov.  xii,  1-15.    .     .     .159 
Golden  Text  :  The  fruit  of  the  righteous  is  a  tree  of  life;  and 
he  that  winneth  eouls  is  wise.— Prov.  xi,  30. 

XXI.— May  21.— Against  Intemperance.     Prov.  xxiii,  29-35.  168 
Golden  Text  :  Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging :  and 
whosoever  is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise.— Prov.  xx,  1. 

XXII.— May  28.— The  Excellent  Woman.     Prov.  xxxi,  10-31.  177 
Golden  Text  :  Favor  is  deceitful,  and  beauty  is  vain :  but  a 
woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she  shall  be  praised. — Prov.  xxxi,  30. 

XXIII.— June  4.— Reverence  and  Fidelity.     Eccles.  v,  1-12.   .  186 
Golden   Text  :    Not  slothful  in  business  ;   fervent  in  spirit; 
serving  the  Lord.— Rom.  xii,  11. 


CONTENTS.  Yii 

LESSON  PAGE 

XXIV.— June  11.— The  Creator  Remembered.     Eeelcs.  xii, 

1-7,  18,  14 195 

Golden  Text  :  Eemember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth.— Eccles.  sii,  1. 

XXV.— June  18.— Messiah's  Kingdom.     Mai.  iii,  1-12.     (.4 

Missionary  Lesson.) 203 

Golden  Text  :  They  shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels.— Mai.  iii,  17. 

XXVI.— June  25.— Review 212 


LESSONS    FROM   THE    LIFE   OF    PAUL. 

Third  Quarter. 

XXVII.— July  2.— Paul  Called  to  Europe.     Acts  xvi,  6-15.     .  213 
Golden  Text  :   Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.- Malt,  xxviii,  19. 

XXVIII.— July  9.— Paul  at  Philippi.     Acts  xvi,  19-34.      ...  222 

Golden  Text  :  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
Shalt  be  saved.— Acts  xvi,  31. 

XXIX.— July  16.— Paul  at  Athens.     Acts  xvii,  22-31.    .     .     .230 

Golden  Text  :  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.— John  iv,  24. 

XXX.— July  23.— Paul  at  Corinth.     Acts  xviii,  1-11.   .    .     .240 

Golden  Text  :  The  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that 
perish,  foolishness  ;  but  unto  us  which  are  saved,  it  is  the  power 
of  God.— 1.  Cor.  i,  18. 

XXXI.-July30.— Paul  at  Ephesus.     Acts  xix,  1-12.    .    .     .249 

Golden  Text  :  When  he,  the  Spiiit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth.— John  xvi,  13. 

XXXII.— Aug.  6.— Paul  at  Miletus.     Acts  xx,  22-35 258 

Golden  Text:  Eemember  them  which  have  the  mle  over 
you,  who  have  spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God.— Heb.  xiii,  7. 

XXXIII.— Aug.  13.— Paul  at  Jerusalem.     Acts  xxi,  27-39.    .     .  267 

Golden  Text:  For  unto  you  it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of 
Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on  him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  his  sake. 
—Phil,  i,  29. 

XXXIV.— Aug.  20.— Paul  before  Felix.     Acts  xxiv,  10-25.      .  276 

Golden  Text:  Watch  ye.  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you 
like  men,  be  strong.— I.  Cor.  xvi,  13. 

XXXV.— Aug.  27.— Paul  before  Agrippa.     Acts  xxvi,  19-32.  285 

Golden  Text  :  Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of 
God.— I.  Cor.  i,  24. 

XXXVI.— Sept.  3.— Paul  Shipwrecked.     Acts  xxvii,  30-44.       .  294 

Golden  Text  :  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present 
help  in  trouble.— Psa.  xlvi,  1. 


viii  CONTENTS. 

LESSON  PAGS 

XXXVII. —Sept.  10.— Paul  at  Rome.     Acts  xxviii,  20-31.   .     .  303 
Golden  Text  :  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
—Rom.  i,  16. 

XXXVI II. —Sept.  17.— Personal    Responsibility.      Rom.  xiv, 

12-23.     {A  Temperance  Lesson.) 313 

Golden  Text  :  It  is  jjood  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink 
wine,  nor  any  thing  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth.— Rom. 
xiv,  21. 

XXXIX.— Sept.  24.— Review 321 


STUDIES    IN   THE   EPISTLES. 

Fourth   Quarter. 


V" 


XL.— Oct.  1.— The  Power  of  the  Gospel.     Rom.  i,  8-17.  322 
Golden  Text  :  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ :  for 
it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believ- 
eth. — Rom.  i,  16. 

\^  XLL— Oct.  8.— Redemption  in  Christ.     Rom.  iii,  19-26.  .  331 

Golden  Text  :  Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.— Rom.  iii,  x4. 

XLIL— Oct.  15.— Justification  by  Faith.     Rom.  v,  1-11.    .  339 

Golden  Text  :  While  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for 
us.— Rom.  V,  8. 

XLIIT— Oct.  22.— Christian  Living.     Rom.  xii,  1-15.      .     .  347 

Golden  Text  :  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil 
with  good.— Rom.  xii,  21. 

XLIV.— Oct.   29.— Abstinence  for   the    Sake   of   Others. 

I  I.  Cor.  viii,  1-13.     {A  Temperance  Lesson.)     .    .     .  35G 

1  Golden  Text  :  We  then  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the 

I  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves. — Rom.  xv,  1. 

XLV.— Nov.  5.— The  Resurrection.     I.  Cor.  xv,  12-26.      .  364 

Golden  Text  :    Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the 
i  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — I.  Cor.  xv,  57. 

^^XLVL— Nov.  12.— The  Grace  of  Liberality.     II.  Cor.  viii, 

1-12 373 

Golden  Text  :  He  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his  poverty 
might  be  rich.— II,  Cor.  viii,  9. 

XLVII.— Nov.  19.— Imitation  of  Christ.     Eph.  iv,  20-32.     .  382 

Golden  Text:  And  be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender- 
hearted, forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake 
hath  forgiven  you.  —Eph.  iv,  32. 

XLVIII.— Nov.  26.— The  Christian  Home.      Col.  iii,  12-25.  .  391 

Golden  Text  :  I  will  walk  within  my  house  with  a  perfect 
beart.— Psa.  ci,  2. 

XLIX.— Dec.  3.— Grateful  Obedience.     James  i,  16-27.  .     .  400 

Golden  Text:  We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us.— 
I.  John  iv,  19. 


CONTENTS.  ix 

N  PAGE 

L. — Dec.  10. — The  Heavenly  Inheritance.     I.  Pet.   i, 

1-13 .409 

Golden  Text  :  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath 
made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  ihe  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light.— Col.  i,  1:^. 

LI.— Dec.  17.— The  Glorified  Saviour.     Rev.  i,  9-20.     .  418 

Golden  Text  :  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  him, 
and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name. — Phil,  ii,  9. 

LII.— Dec.  24.— The  Birth  of  Jesus.    Matt,  ii,  1-11.    {A 

Christmas  Lesson.) 427 

Golden  Text:  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus:  for  he  shall 
save  his  people  Irom  their  sins.— Matt,  i,  21. 

LIII.— Dec.  31.— Review 437 


I. 

RETURNING    FROM    THE   CAPTIVITY.— Ezra   i,    i-ii. 

(1)  Now  in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  might  be  fulfilled,  the  Lord  stirred  up  the 
spirit  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  he  made  a  proclamation  throughout  all 
his  kingdom,  and  put  it  also  in  writing,  saying,  (3)  Thus  saith  Cyrus  king 
of  Persia,  The  Lord  God  of  heaven  hath  given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth ;  and  he  hath  charged  me  to  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem,  which 
is  iji  Judah.  (3)  Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people?  his  God  be  with 
him,  and  let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah,  and  build  the  house 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  (he  is  the  God,)  which  is  in  Jerusalem.  (4)  And 
whosoever  remaineth  in  any  place  where  he  sojourneth,  let  the  men  of  his 
place  help  him  with  silver,  and  with  gold,  and  with  goods,  and  with  beasts, 
beside  the  freewill  offering  for  the  house  of  God  that  is  in  Jerusalem.  (5) 
Then  rose  up  the  chief  of  the  fathers  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and  the 
priests,  and  the  Levites,  with  all  them  whose  spirit  God  had  raised,  to  go 
up  to  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  which  is  in  Jerusalem.  (6)  And  all  they 
that  were  about  them  strengthened  their  hands  with  vessels  of  silver,  with 
gold,  with  goods,  and  v/ith  beasts,  and  with  precious  things,  beside  all 
that  was  willingly  offered.  (7)  Also  Cyrus  the  king  brought  forth  the  ves- 
sels of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  brought  forth  out 
of  Jerusalem,  and  had  put  them  in  the  house  of  his  gods ;  (8)  Even  those 
did  Cyrus  king  of  Persia  bring  forth  by  the  hand  of  jNIithredath  the  treas- 
urer, and  numbered  them  unto  Sheshbazzar,  the  prince  of  Judah.  (9)  And 
this  is  the  number  of  them :  thirty  chargers  of  gold,  a  thousand  chargers 
of  silver,  nine  and  twenty  knives,  (10)  Thirty  basins  of  gold,  silver  basins 
of  a  second  sort  four  hundred  and  ten,  and  other  vessels  a  thousand.  (11) 
All  the  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver  were  five  thousand  and  four  hundred. 
All  these  did  Sheshbazzar  bring  up  with  them  of  the  captivity  that  were 
brought  up  from  Babylon  unto  Jerusalem.  —Ezra  i,  1-11. 

In  the  Second  Book  of  Kings  (chapter  xxv,  1-12)  we  have  an  ac- 
count of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  burning  of  Solomon's 
Temple,  and  the  captivity  and  deportation  of  Judah  and  Benjamin 
from  the  land  of  their  fathers  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon. (See  "Bible  Studies"  for  1891,  pp.  191.)  The  prophets  of  the 
Lord  who  had  foretold  this  captiAdty  had  also  predicted  their  return 
to  their  own  land  after  seventy  years.  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
when  seventy  years  are  accomplished,  that  I  will  punish  the  king  of 
Babylon,  and  that  nation,  saith  the  Lord,  for  their  iniquity."  "For 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  That  after  seventy  years  be  accomplished  at 
Babylon  I  will  visit  you,  and  perform  my  good  word  toward  you,  in 


2  EETURNING  FROM   THE   CAPTIVITY. 

causing  you  to  return  to  this  place.  For  I  know  the  thoughts  that  I 
think  toward  you,  saith  the  Lord,  thoughts  of  peace,  and  not  of  evil, 
to  give  you  an  expected  end."  ''For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Like  as  I 
have  brought  all  this  great  evil  upon  this  people,  so  will  I  bring 
upon  them  all  the  good  that  I  have  promised  them."  (Jer.  xxv, 
12;  xxix,  10,  11;  xxxii,  42.)  Long  before  Jeremiah  prophesied  the 
captivity  and  return,  Isaiah  had  (150  years  before)  declared  that 
this  return  should  be  brought  about  by  Cyrus,  thus  unfolding  the 
future  so  minutely  as  to  reveal  the  rise  of  this  gi'eat  man,  and  even 
foretell  his  name.  (Is.  xliv,  28;  xlv,  1.)  The  seventy  years  were 
now  accomplished.  Cyrus  had  ascended  the  throne  of  Babylon, 
and  in  his  first  year  decreed  the  return  of  the  exiles.  The  Book 
of  Ezra  begins  the  historical  account  of  that  momentous  event. 
This  brief  history  is  chronological,  and  though  with  many  a  gap  in, 
it,  covers  a  period  of  about  eighty  years.  At  present  we  have  only 
to  do  with  the  first  eighteen  or  twenty  years  of  the  whole  period,  in- 
cluding the  time  between  the  issuing  of  the  decree  of  Cyrus,  until 
the  finishing  and  dedication  of  the  new  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  Ezra 
does  not  give  in  detail  the  events  connected  with  the  return  except 
so  far  as  they  immediately  affected  the  great  work  of  rebuilding. 
He  does  not  describe  the  spiritual  side  of  the  return,  but  only  the 
material  details  in  connection  with  the  carrying  out  of  the  com- 
mands of  Cyrus,  and  the  diflQculties  and  hindrances  incident  thereto. 
The  spiritual  state  of  the  people  is  described  by  the  prophets  Hag- 
gai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  who  were  contemporary  with  Ezra  and 
the  resettlement,  the  first  two  being  present  with  the  people  from 
the  beginning,  while  the  last  arose  later  on.  The  spiritual  history 
of  the  people  during  this  resettlement  of  their  land  is  detailed  at 
length  in  most  of  the  Psalms  included  between  the  hundred  and 
seventh  and  the  hundred  and  forty-sixth,  the  exceptions  being  some 
which  have  been  inserted  in  the  various  cycles  and  applied  to  the 
incidents  of  that  time,  and  which  bear  the  name  of  David  in  the 
inscription.  A  study  of  these  Psalms,  together  with  the  prophets 
named,  will  throw  a  great  flood  of  light  upon  this  whole  period. 

Of  Ezra,  the  writer  of  this  history,  we  know  a  good  deal,  and  tra- 
dition has  furnished  us  with  many  stories,  while  modern  speculative 
criticism  has  ascribed  to  him  much  more  than  the  facts  of  the  case 
would  seem  to  warrant.  He  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  Phineas, 
the  son  of  Aaron,  (Ezra  vii,  1-5.)  He  is  said  to  have  been  the 
high-priest  of  the  Jews  during  the  latter  part  of  their  captivity,  for 
he  was  born  during  the  exile,  and  could  not  have  been  much  more 
than  forty  years  of  age  when  he  led  the  return  of  the  people  to  their 


THE   PROCLAMATION   OF   CYRUS.  3 

land.  He  was  a  great  scholar,  ^^a  scribe,"  "a  ready  scribe  of  the 
law  of  Moses,"  ^'a  scribe  of  the  words  of  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  the  statutes  of  Israel,"  ''a  scribe  of  the  law  of  the  God  . 
of  heaven,"  and  a  'Spriest."  (Neh.  vii;  xii,  26.)  Josephus  tells  us 
that  he  was  particularly  conversant  with  the  laws  of  Moses,  and 
that  he  was  held  in  universal  esteem  on  account  of  his  righteousness 
and  mercy ;  that  he  was  a  man  of  meek  and  gentle  disposition,  while 
at  the  same  time  full  of  character  and  energy.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  the  author  of  the  present  Old  Testament  canon,  and  even  to 
have  transcribed  the  entire  law  of  Moses,  together  with  the  earlier 
histories,  from  memory  (all  written  copies  ha\ing  perished).  In- 
deed, if  we  should  believe  all  that  has  been  ascribed  to  him,  we  must 
conclude  that  he  was  the  author  of  all  the  prophets,  great  and  small. 
It  is  considered  more  than  likely,  however,  that  he  was  the  writer 
of  the  119th  Psalm.  Ho  lived,  according  to  the  best  information,  to 
the  great  age  of  120  years,  and  died  in  the  same  year  as  Haggai, 
Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  with  whom  the  prophetic  canon  closed,  for 
after  them  no  prophet  arose  in  Israel  until  John  the  Baptist.  The 
book  that  bears  his  name,  and  with  which  we  are  at  present  con- 
cerned, is  divided  into  two  j)arts,  chapters  first  to  sixth  (inclusive) 
being  a  history  of  the  returning  exiles  and  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Temple,  and  covering  a  period  extending  from  the  reign  of  Cyrus 
to  that  of  Darius.  The  second  part  (consisting  of  four  chapters) 
contains  an  autobiographical  history  of  himself  and  a  personal 
account  of  the  returning  exiles. 

I.— THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  CYRUS. 

Cyrus  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  conspicuous  historical 
characters  of  the  later  ancients.  He  was  undoubtedly  the  greatest 
hero  of  the  East.  The  son  of  Cambyses,  prince  of  Persia,  he  was 
doomed  to  death  by  his  reputed  grandfather  (then  king  of  Media), 
but  escaped  and  afterward  appeared  among  the  soldiery  of  Persia, 
and  rapidly  rose  by  his  genius  and  prowess  to  the  command  of  the 
armies  of  that  dependency ;  after  a  while Jie  assumed  entire  military 
control,  and  carried  on  independently  his  military  schemes  until  he 
had  overthrown  the  gi'andfather  who  had  at  first  doomed  him  to 
death,  and  finally  founded  the  vast  empire  of  Persia,  over  which  he 
ruled  with  signal  power  and  justice.  He  had  been  for  many  years 
king  of  Persia  before  he  conquered  Babylon.  It  was  in  the  first 
year  of  this  latter  conquest,  after  he  had  ascended  the  throne  of 
that  kingdom,  that  he  issued  his  decree  concerning  the  Jews.     ''Per- 


4  RETURNING  FROM  THE  CAPTIVITY. 

haiDS  no  conqueror  has  over  left  behind  him  so  fair  a  fame  as  that  of 
Cyrus  the  Great.  His  .mighty  achievements  have  been  borne  down 
to  us  on  the  voice  of  the  nations  which  he  elevated ;  his  evil  deeds 
(if  any)  have  had  no  historian  to  record  them."  Moreover,  he  en- 
joyed the  singular  privilege  of  being  the  first  of  the  Gentile  kings  to 
befriend  the  exiled  Jews  at  the  time  of  their  sorest  need.  His  in- 
strumentality in  restoring  this  ancient  and  favored  people  to  their 
land  has  done  more  for  the  world  than  all  the  conquests  of  the  great- 
est men,  for  from  them  has  streamed  forth  that  light  and  life  which 
has  been  the  illumination  and  inspiration  of  all  that  has  been  and  is 
best  in  the  history  of  modern  nations. 

1.  His  name. — Secular  history  tells  us  that  he  assumed  the  name 
of  Cyrus,  or  Coresh  (a  Persian  name  signifying  the  sun),  after  he 
ascended  the  throne  of  Babylon,  dropping  his  old  name  "Agradates." 
There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  this  change  of  name,  as  it  was  a 
custom  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  remarkable  thing  about  it  is 
that  the  name  Cyrus  was  given  to  him  by  prophecy  two  hundred 
years  before  he  was  born,  at  the  same  time  describing  his  character, 
his  military  achievements,  and  what  he  would  do  for  the  people  of 
God,  wlio  were  not  as  yet  exiled  from  their  own  land.  (Is.  xliv,  28 ; 
xlv,  1.)  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Cyrus  knew  anything 
of  this  prophecy  until  after  he  had  assumed  his  new  name.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  moved  to 
his  benevolent  action  toward  the  exiled  Jews  in  his  new  kingdom 
by  having  his  attention  called  to  these  prophecies,  both  those  of 
Isaiah,  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  by  name  and  designated  as  God's 
"shepherd,"  and  also  those  of  Jeremiah,  in  which  the  return  of  the 
exiles  just  at  this  juncture  is  explicitly  foretold. 

2.  The  prologue  of  the  proclamation. — This  famous  procla- 
mation of  Cyrus  is  introduced  by  two  general  and  most  important 
statements,  (i)  An  acknowledgment  of  the  true  God — "  The  Lord 
God  of  heaven."  It  has  usually  been  supposed  that  Cyrus  (being  a 
Persian)  was  a  monotheist,  and  not  an  idolater  and  polytheist,  and 
that  so  he  more  readily  came  to  acknowledge  the  God  of  heaven — 
the  Jehovah  of  Israel  and  the  God  of  Daniel  (ii,  21) — as  being  none 
other  than  the  "Ormazd,"  the  "Supreme  God,"  whom  they  recog- 
nized as  having  the  direction  of  all  worldly  affairs.  Later  discover- 
ies, however,  have  settled  it  that  Cyi'us  was  not  by  birth  and  train- 
ing a  Persian,  but  an  Elamite  and  a  polytheist.  The  question  nat- 
urally arises  how  Cyrus  came  to  introduce  such  a  clause  in  the  very 
opening  of  his  proclamation.  It  Avould  be  more  natural  for  him  to 
have  introduced  the  name  of  one  or  both  of  his  gods.     The  explana- 


THE   PROCLAMATION   OF   CYRUS.  0 

tion  is  (and  must  be)  that  Daniel,  whom  he  had  made  prime-minis- 
ter (retaining  him  in  that  office  when  he  had  taken  Babylon),  had 
instructed  him  in  the  prophecies  concerning  himself,  and  had  pointed 
out  to  him  that  he  owed  it  to  God  not  only  to  carry  out  this  decree 
of  Heaven,  but  also  to  ascribe  to  God  his  marvelous  successes  in 
triumphing  over  all  the  nations  which  he  had  subdued.  The  read- 
ing of  these  ancient  Scriptures  of  the  Jews  in  which  he  found  him- 
self mentioned  by  name  and  his  successes  so  accurately  described 
must  have  powerfully  impressed  that  great  monarch,  also  the  added 
statements  that  God  had  raised  him  up  for  the  express  purj^ose  of 
restoring  his  people  and  fulfilling  his  purpose  concerning  them.  It 
could  not  have  been  otherwise,  (ii)  The  acknowledgment  concern- 
ing his  present  greatness  and  power — "He  hath  given  me  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth."  The  forty-fifth  chapter  of  Isaiah  sets  forth 
how  God  had  overruled  all  things  to  bring  the  great  kingdoms  of  the 
East  under  the  power  of  this  monarch.  How  far  Cyrus  was  con- 
verted to  God  we  are  not  prepared  to  venture  an  opinion,  but  it  is 
e\ddent  that,  ha'^dng  decided  to  restore  the  Jews  to  their  own  land, 
he  was  prepared  to  accept  Daniel's  view  of  the  matter  as  pointed 
out  from  the  prophets  of  Israel,  and  so  he  wrote  accordingly  (if,  in- 
deed, we  may  not  suppose  that  the  whole  proclamation  was  drawn 
up  by  Daniel  and  accepted  and  subscribed  by  the  king,  which  we 
think  not  unlikely).  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Cyrus  was  not  the  ruler 
over  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth ;  but  it  is  entirely  consistent  with 
the  use  of  Oriental  language  for  him  to  express  himself  in  this  way, 
being,  in  fact,  the  most  powerful  ruler  in  the  then  known  world, 
and  actually  exercising  sovereignty  over  all  the  earth  between  India 
and  the  Mediterranean,  including  all  Asia  Minor.  He  was  even  then 
meditating  the  conquests  both  of  India  and  Egypt,  already  counting 
himself  as  good  as  their  ruler.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  strategic 
importance  of  having  a  powerful  and  grateful  people  inhabiting  his 
southwest  frontier  (as  would  be  the  case  were  the  Jews  restored  and 
well  established  in  their  own  land)  powerfully  co-operated  in  his 
mind  with  the  instructions  and  advices  of  Daniel  to  carry  out  God's 
word  of  prophecy.  God  works  his  will  concerning  men  by  means 
of  and  in  connection  with  their  free  will,  and  uses  even  the  worldly 
motives  of  his  instruments. 

3.  His  submission  to  God's  command. — "He  (the  God  of 
heaven)  hath  charged  me  to  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem,  which 
is  in  Judah."  In  this  clause  of  the  proclamation  there  is  distinct 
reference  to  the  prophetic  word  of  Isaiah  uttered  two  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  Cyrus.     "  That  saith  of  Cyrus,  He  is  my  shep- 


G  KETURNING   FROM   THE   CAPTIVITY. 

herd,  and  shall  perform  all  my  pleasure  :  even  sajang  to  Jerusalem, 
Thou  shalt  be  built ;  and  to  the  Temple,  Thy  foundation  shall  be 
laid."  (Is.  xliv,  28.)  To  this  command  of  the  God  of  heaven  Cy- 
rus, the  proud  conqueror  of  the  world,  now  humbly  bows.  As  we 
have  frequently  remarked,  could  we  know  all  the  counsel  of  God, 
and  were  the  history  of  all  kings  written  from  the  point  of  view  of 
God's  plans  concerning  the  people  whom  he  loves,  it  would  be  seen 
that  they  also,  in  carrying  forward  their  own  schemes,  were  even 
(all  unknown  to  themselves)  executing  God's  purposes.  In  the  case 
of  Cyrus  we  know  that  divine  power  was  directly  exercised  upon 
him,  for  we  read  (v.  1)  that  "the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of 
Cyrus."  Whether  Cyrus  would  have  carried  out  this  purpose  without 
the  added  impulse  received  directly  from  God  may  be  doubted,  even 
under  the  guidance  of  Daniel  and  the  powerful  arguments  brought 
to  bear  upon  him  from  the  reading  of  the  prophets  Jeremiah  and 
Isaiah;  but  God  holds  the  hearts  of  kings  in  his  hand  and  turns 
them  whither  he  will.     (Prov.  xxi,  1.) 

4.  The  command  of  Cyrus. — This  takes  first  the  form  of  per- 
mission. ^' Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people?  his  God  be 
with  him,  and  let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem  and  build  the  house  of  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel."  This  was  the  distinct  official  announcement 
that  their  political  captivity  and  exile  was  over.  They  had  now  full 
permission  to  leave  Babylon,  to  return  to  their  own  land  and  rebuild 
the  Temple,  which  was  the  center  of  their  worship.  It  is  noted  that 
in  this  proclamation  Cyrus  is  led  to  not  only  acknowledge  the  God 
of  Israel  as  "a"  God,  or  even  "the  "  God,  of  Israel,  but  he  adds,  "He 
is  tlie  God" — that  is,  he  confesses  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the  God 
of  Israel.  Having  laid  his  hand  to  this  work,  he  does  it  thoroughly. 
This  decree  is  not  one  of  expulsion,  but  of  permission.  He  did  not 
drive  the  people  out  of  Babylon,  but  just  gave  them  full  permission 
to  go  if  they  so  desired.  The  next  clause  in  the  proclamation  covers 
the  case  of  those  who,  though  at  full  liberty  to  go  with  their  breth- 
ren, still  chose  to  remain  in  the  land  where  they  had  been  born  or 
settled.  It  must  be  remembered  that  a  vast  majority  of  the  Jews 
in  Babylon  at  this  time  were  born  in  the  land  during  the  long  exile, 
covering  a  period  of  seventy  years.  Most  of  the  original  exiles  were 
dead,  and  except  for  their  religious  traditions  the  people  were  na- 
tives of  the  land.  Many  of  them  had  made  homes  for  themselves, 
not  a  few  of  them  had  married  in  the  land,  as  we  elsewhere  learn 
(ix,  2),  and  their  natural  attachment  to  the  homes  of  their  exile 
(probably  being  also  largely  influenced  by  their  heathen  wives)  was 
stronger  than  their  religious  sentiment  and  the  old  patriotism  of 


THE   RETURNING  EXILES.  7 

their  fathers.  These  were  not  compelled  by  Cjtus  to  go  with  their 
brethren ;  but  they  were  commanded  (if  they  elected  to  remain  in 
Babylon)  to  help  the  returning  exiles  with  large  and  liberal  gifts  of 
silver  and  gold,  goods  and  cattle,  all  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding 
the  Temple  and  re-establishing  the  Jewish  rituals.  They  represent 
that  large  number  of  Christiaiis  of  our  day  who  themselves  will  not 
leave  their  purely  worldly  pursuits  to  engage  directly  in  the  Lord's 
work,  but  commute  such  service  by  large  contributions  of  their 
wealth.  A  poor  substitute,  but  a  service  that  is  still  commanded, 
and  accepted  for  what  it  is  worth.  This  circumstance  would  also 
prove  that  the  general  condition  of  the  exiled  Jews  was  not  alto- 
gether bad  in  Babylon.  It  was  nothing  like  the  "  bitter  bondage  " 
of  their  forefathers  in  Egypt  under  the  later  Pharaoh's  reign. 

II.— THE  RETURN-ING  EXILES. 

Among  all  the  two  hundred  thousand  who  had  gone  down  into 
exile  there  were  not  a  few  of  the  younger  people  who  had  lived 
through  it  all,  and  had  never  ceased  to  mourn  over  their  banishment 
from  their  own  land,  and  on  whose  hearts  the  altar  fires  of  hope 
and  longing  desire  had  never  ceased  to  burn.  No  doubt  there  were 
those  of  a  younger  generation  who  were  also  filled  with  that  un- 
speakable joy  which  the  psalmist  describes  when  he  says:  "When 
the  Lord  turned  again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were  like  them  that 
dream.  Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our  tongue 
with  singing:  then  said  they  among  the  heathen.  The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  them.  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for 
us;  whereof  we  are  glad."     (Ps.  cxxvi,  1-3.) 

1.  The  glad  ones. — Among  those  who  at  once  sprung  to  the 
privilege  which  had  been  granted  them  were  naturally  the  "  chief 
of  the  fathers  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  "  (for  of  the  other  tribes  there 
were  few  if  any  remaining  in  Babylon,  having  been  scattered  among 
many  nations  and  practically  lost).  With  these  chiefs  were  many 
of  the  priests  and  Levites,  though  elsewhere  we  learn  that  there 
were  more  priests  than  Levites.  These  were  they  who  had  been 
waiting  and  longing  to  return.  They  were  like  hounds  in  a  leash 
straining  to  be  let  go,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  set  free  sprung  away 
to  their  own  dear  land.  They  were  like  those  who  are  "  waiting  for 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,"  and  are  ready  to  respond  at  once  to  the 
ery,  "  A  bridegroom  eometh,  go  ye  out  to  meet  him  " — those  who  are 
^'looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord."  (II.  Pet. 
iii,  12.) 

2.  The  "stirred-up"  ones.— Besides  these  whose  hearts  had 


8  EETURNING  FROM  THE  CAPTIVITY. 

been  longing  for  tlio  return  there  were  those  whoso  hearts  were 
stirred  up  by  the  Lord  at  the  time  of  this  proclamation,  and  who 
responded  at  once  under  inward  pressure,  and  joined  with  those 
fathers  and  brethren  who  were  already  waiting  and  watching. 
While  they  were  not  so  soiTOWful  as  the  others,  yet  they  were  full 
enough  of  religious  desire  and  patriotism  to  forsake  their  homes  and 
go  forth  to  their  real  home  in  Jerusalem,  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
They  represent  a  large  class  of  Christians  who,  though  not  'instant 
in  season  and  out  of  season,"  are  yet  so  far  spiritual  that  they  re- 
spond to  the  first  breath  of  revival  that  comes  to  the  Church  of  God. 
Those  more  or  less  entangled  in  the  world  may  still  be  more  spiritual 
than  they  are  worldly,  and  may  shake  off  their  sloth  and  make  quick 
choice  of  the  things  of  God. 

3.  The  helpers. — It  is  added  that  "  they  that  were  about  them 
strengthened  their  hands."  (v.  6.)  These  were  those  of  whom  we 
have  already  spoken,  whose  worldly  or  domestic  attachments  were 
too  great  for  them  to  sever  for  the  sake  of  returning  to  Jerusalem 
and  engaging  in  the  God-given  task  of  rebuilding  the  Temple.  Per- 
haps, also,  there  were  proper  Babylonians  who  were  more  or  less 
moved  by  attachment  and  respect  for  their  Jewish  neighbors,  or  had 
caught  the  present  enthusiasm,  and  were  willing  to  bid  them  "  God 
speed  "  in  their  return — persons  who  were  willing  to  give,  not  "  them- 
selves," but  their  goods,  to  the  good  work  of  God.  Many  motives 
may  have  entered  into  their  action,  and  we  find  the  same  class 
among  us  to-day,  the  so-called  "  well-wishers  "  of  the  cause  of  Christ 
— benevolent  husbands  of  Christian  wives,  kind-hearted  parents  of 
Christian  children ;  decent  people  of  the  world,  who,  though  not  will- 
ing to  go  over  to  God's  side,  yet  hope  to  make  some  way  for  them- 
selves by  gifts  of  gold  and  silver.  The  motive  is  neither  high  nor 
noble,  nevertheless  the  action  may  betoken  the  presence  of  some 
striving  of  the  Spirit  with  them.  God  wants  hearts  rather  than 
goods ;  yet  it  may  be  that  many  will  follow  their  gifts  by  and  by, 
with  a  surrender  of  themselves  to  the  Lord,  as  many  of  these  who 
remained  behind  did  at  a  later  period  under  the  influence  of  Ezra's 
ministrations.  On  this  principle  we  would  not  directly  solicit  aid 
for  God's  cause  from  unbelievers,  yet  if  they  are  moved  or  stirred 
up  voluntarily  to  offer  gifts  to  help  on  Christian  work,  we  would  not 
refuse,  provided  these  gifts  were  not  offered  with  the  motive  that 
prompted  Simon  Magus  to  offer  money  to  Peter.     (Acts  viii,  18-23.) 

III.— THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  SACRED  VESSELS. 

At  the  time  the  people  were  carried  away  into  Babylon  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar the  Temple  had  been  first  rifled  of  all  the  vessels  and 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  SACRED  VESSELS.    9 

then  burnt.  There  were  many  thousands  of  these  treasures,  valu- 
able both  on  account  of  the  precious  metals  which  composed  them 
and  for  the  greater  reason  that  they  had  been  dedicated  to  the  serv- 
ice of  God.  Some  of  them  Belshazzar  had  impiously  used  in  thab 
great  drunken  feast  which  he  gave  to  a  thousand  of  his  lords  on  that 
night,  years  before,  when  the  city  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies  and  he  himself  was  slain.  (II.  Kings  xxiv,  13;  Dan.  v, 
1-4.) 

1.  The  transfer  of  these  sacred  vessels. — It  seems  that  these 
vessels  to  the  great  number  of  five  thousand  four  hundred,  includ- 
ing both  gold  and  silver  (v.  11),  had  been  kept  all  these  years  in  the 
royal  treasure-house  of  Babylon.  They  are  now  by  the  decree  of 
Cyrus  restored  to  their  proper  ownership.  He  therefore  required 
his  treasurer  Mithredath  to  deliver  them  over  to  Sheshbazzar,  the 
Prince  of  Judah,  by  him  to  be  taken  to  Jerusalem  and  finally  re- 
stored to  the  new^Temple  which  he  had  commanded  to  be  built  unto 
the  Lord.  Thus  was  the  restoration  completed,  so  far  as  the  au- 
thority of  Cyrus  was  concerned.  He  had  made  complete  restitution 
of  all  that  had  been  taken  away  into  captivity  from  the  Lord. 
When  a  man  is  converted  to  God  he  is  supposed  to  give  not  only 
himself  to  God  (to  whom  he  rightfully  belongs)  but  also  all  his  pos- 
sessions. Had  Cyrus  refused  to  give  up  these  precious  and  sacred 
vessels  when  he  set  the  people  free  and  bade  them  build  the  Temple, 
his  sincerity  might  have  been  well  impeached.  When  Moses  left 
Egypt  he  insisted  that  the  "  flocks  and  herds  "  should  go  out  with 
them.  If  a  man  professes  conversion  and  yet  does  not  bring  his 
wealth  in  consecration  to  God,  there  is  always  reason  to  doubt  the 
genuineness  of  the  conversion.  I  have  heard  of  an  old  Baptist 
minister  who  used  always  to  insist  that  his  converts  should  put  their 
purses  in  their  pockets  when  they  were  baptized,  as  a  proof  that 
they  were  sincere.  I  have  also  heard  of  an  ancient  Irish  chief  who 
was  converted  to  God,  but  whom  when  he  was  baptized  refused  to 
have  his  right  arm  immersed,  because  he  wished  to  reserve  it  to 
carry  on  his  warfare  with  his  enemies.  Paul  speaks  of  these  vessels 
of  gold  and  silver  in  that  passage  in  which  he  likens  them  to  the 
servants  of  God  who  are  used  by  the  Master  in  his  "living  Temple," 
which  is  the  Church.     (II.  Tim.  ii,  20,  21.) 

2.  The  Prince  of  Judah. — This  Sheshbazzar  into  whose  hands 
the  vessels  were  delivered  is  the  same  as  Zerubbabel.  (ii,  2 ;  v,  14.) 
He  was  appointed  by  Cyrus  the  political  governor  of  the  movement, 
as  Ezra  was  made  the  priest  and  scribe  of  the  people.  Chapter  v, 
14,  gives  a  more  detailed  account  of  this  transfer  of  the  vessels  in 
connection  with  the  decree  of  Cyrus. 


n. 

REBUILDING   THE   TEMPLE.— Ezra  iii,    1-13. 

(1)  And  when  the  seventh  month  was  come,  and  the  children  of  Israel 
were  in  the  cities,  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  to 
Jerusalem.  (2)  Then  stood  up  Jeshua  the  son  of  Jozadak,  and  his  brethren 
the  priests,  and  Zerubbabel  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  and  his  brethren,  and 
builded  the  altar  of  the  God  of  Israel,  to  offer  burnt  offerings  thereon,  as  it 
is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses  the  man  of  God.  (3)  And  they  set  the  altar 
upon  his  bases;  for  fear  was  upon  them  because  of  the  people  of  those 
countries:  and  they  offered  burnt  offerings  thereon  unto  the  Lord,  even 
burnt  offerings  morning  and  evening.  (4)  They  kept  also  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles, as  it  is  written,  and  offered  the  daily  burnt  offerings  by  number, 
according  to  the  custom,  as  the  duty  of  every  day  required;  (5)  And  after- 
ward offered  the  continual  burnt  offering,  both  of  the  new  moons,  and  of 
all  the  set  feasts  of  the  Lord  that  were  consecrated,  and  of  every  one  that 
willingly  offered  a  freewill  offering  unto  the  Lord.  (6)  From  the  first  day 
of  the  seventh  month  began  they  to  offer  burnt  offerings  unto  the  Lord. 
But  the  foundation  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord  was  not  yet  laid.  (7)  They 
gave  money  also  unto  the  masons,  and  to  the  carpenters;  and  meat,  and 
drink,  and  oil,  unto  them  of  Zidon,  and  to  them  of  Tyre,  to  bring  cedar 
trees  from  Lebanon  to  the  sea  of  Joppa,  according  to  the  grant  that  they 
had  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia.  (8)  Now  in  the  second  year  of  their  coming 
unto  the  house  of  God  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  second  month,  began  Zerubba- 
bel the  son  of  Shealtiel,  and  Jeshua  the  son  of  Jozadak,  and  the  remnant 
of  their  brethren  the  priests  and  the  Levites,  and  all  they  that  were  come 
out  of  the  captivity  unto  Jerusalem;  and  appointed  the  Levites,  from 
twenty  years  old  and  upward,  to  set  forward  the  work  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord.  (9)  Then  stood  Jeshua  with  his  sons  and  his  brethren,  Kadmiel  aud 
his  sons,  the  sons  of  Judah,  together,  to  set  forward  the  workmen  in  the 
house  of  God :  the  sons  of  Henadad,  with  their  sons  and  their  brethren  the 
Levites.  (10)  And  when  the  builders  laid  the  foundation  of  the  temple  of 
the  Lord,  they  set  the  priests  in  their  apparel  with  trumpets,  and  the 
Levites  the  sons  of  Asaph  with  cymbals,  to  praise  the  Lord,  after  the  ordi- 
nance of  David  king  of  Israel.  (11)  And  they  sang  together  by  course  in 
praising  and  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord ;  because  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy 
endureth  for  ever  toward  Israel.  And  all  the  people  shouted  with  a  great 
shout,  when  they  praised  the  Lord,  because  the  foundation  of  the  house  of 
the  Lord  was  laid.  (12)  But  many  of  the  priests  and  Levites  and  chief  of 
the  fathers,  who  were  ancient  men,  that  had  seen  the  first  house,  when  the 
foundation  of  this  house  was  laid  before  their  eyes,  wept  with  a  loud  voice ; 
and  many  shouted  aloud  for  joy:  (13)  So  that  the  people  could  not  discern 
the  noise  of  the  shout  of  joy  from  the  noise  of  the  weeping  of  the  people : 
for  the  people  shouted  with  a  loud  shout,  and  the  noise  was  heard  afar  off. 
—Ezra  iii,  1-13. 

The  second  chapter  of  Ezra  is  given  up  largely  to  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  returning  exiles,  and  to  the  particulars  of  their  families, 


REBUILDING   THE   TEMPLE.  11 

according  to  tlieir  houses.  The  leaders  of  this  movement  were 
anxious  that  the  unmixed  Israelites  should  be  separated  from  those 
whose  blood  or  families  had  been  corrupted  by  intermarriage  with 
the  heathen  among  whom  they  had  been  sojourning.  There  were 
some  mixed  families  among  them  ;  these  they  did  not  fordid,  only  (if 
they  could  not  show  a  pure  descent)  they  were  excluded  from  the 
priesthood  as  being  "polluted."  (ii,  62,  63.)  In  this  we  see  a  very 
proper  care,  the  principle  of  which,  had  it  been  observed  throughout 
the  history  of  the  Christian  Church,  would  have  saved  a  world  of 
trouble  and  a  mass  of  corruption.  The  rulers  of  all  churches  should 
be  ever  ready  to  welcome  into  the  worshiping  congregation  all  who 
may  come,  but  into  the  membership  of  the  Church — the  priesthood 
of  believers — only  those  who  are  able  to  declare  their  spiritual  de- 
scent from  God  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  faith  in  Christ.  Most 
of  Israel's  troubles  came  through  unholy  mixtures  and  alliances  with 
the  heathen  people  around  them ;  just  as  most  of  our  troubles  in 
Christian  ages  have  come  from  the  mixture  of  the  '^ tares  among  the 
wheat."  No  man  or  woman  should  be  admitted  into  the  communion 
of  Christ's  Church  until  reasonable  care  is  taken  to  ascertain  whether 
or  not  they  have  been  the  subjects  of  the  renewing  grace  of  God. 

The  register  having  been  completed,  it  was  found  that  the  num- 
ber of  pilgrims  returned  to  the  land  of  their  fathers  was  forty-two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy,  besides  seven  thousand  three 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  servants  and  maids  who  went  up  with 
them ;  in  addition  to  these  there  were  two  hundred  singing  men  and 
women — in  all,  forty-nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seven  souls. 
Beside  this  great  army  of  men  and  women  (it  is  not  certain  whether 
children  under  age  were  counted),  there  were  horses,  camels,  asses, 
and  mules  to  the  number  of  eight  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
six.  These  latter  were  used  probably  for  the  old  men  and  some  of 
the  feebler  women  to  ride  upon,  and  for  purposes  of  transport.  It 
was  an  immense  cavalcade,  and  must  have  made  a  great  impression 
upon  the  people  of  the  land  as  they  marched  out  of  exile  and  through 
the  intervening  countries.  "  Who  are  these  and  whence  came  they, 
and  whither  and  wherefore  do  they  go?"  must  have  been  questions 
on  many  tongues.  The  story  of  Israel's  sin,  her  captivity,  and  now 
of  her  return,  together  with  the  prophecies  and  the  action  of  Cyrus 
as  set  forth  in  his  proclamation,  were  told  over  and  over  again,  and 
did  not  a  little  to  sow  some  seeds  of  God's  truth  among  the  heathen. 
The  Church  of  God,  as  she  moves  through  this  world  with  loins 
girded,  lamps  trimmed  and  burning,  goods  consecrated  and  taken 
with  the  people  over  to  God's  ground,  ought  to  be  the  occasion  of 


12  REBUILDING  THE  TEMPLE. 

exciting  a  similar  interest  among  the  world's  people.  But  large  as 
this  company  was,  it  represented  but  a  fraction  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  exiles.  More  than  two  hundred  thousand  had  been  carried 
away  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  And  now,  after  this  first  exodus, 
there  were  yet  large  colonies  to  follow  them  and  be  led  into  their 
own  land  by  the  exertions  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  It  suggests  what 
is  ever  to  be  seen  among  the  people  of  God.  There  are  those  who 
are  always  on  the  watch  for  the  word  of  God's  command,  ready  to 
forsake  all  and  follow  whither  he  leads  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  those  whose  self-interest  will  not  suffer  them  to  depart 
promptly ;  who  are  reluctant  to  make  sacrifices,  to  sunder  pleasant 
worldly  ties  and,  to  go  forth  outside  the  camp,  bearing  reproach  and 
suffering  hardship  for  Christ.  When  our  Lord  comes  again,  there 
will  be  comparatively  few  who  will  be  "  looking  for  and  hasting  unto 
his  coming "  and  ready  to  meet  him  in  the  air ;  but  he  will  fetch 
the  rest  later,  for  though  so  many  of  us  are  lukewarm  and  slack  in 
oti,r  love  and  duty  lie  is  ever  true  to  his  promises  and  to  his  grace, 
and  will  not  suffer  one  of  his  otvti  to  be  lost  or  left  out  of  the  glory 
he  has  prepared  for  them. 

This  return  of  the  Jewish  exiles  took  place  in  the  first  year  of 
the  reign  of  Cyrus  as  king  of  Babylonia,  and  in  the  year  B.C.  536. 
It  probably  began  early  in  the  spring,  and  the  journey  must  have 
occupied  several  months,  two  or  three  at  the  very  least.  We  know 
that  the  land  had  lain  waste  and  desolate  during  all  those  long 
seventy  years.  No  other  colonists  had  been  placed  there,  and  no 
people  had  voluntarily  taken  np  the  abandoned  and  deserted  land. 
The  old  cities  were  in  ruins,  the  old  homes  fallen  into  decay,  the 
once  fertile  and  fruitful  fields  given  up  to  fallow  weeds  and  wild 
growth.  Wild  beasts  were  the  only  inhabitants,  except  perhaps  an 
occasional  stray  settler.  The  first  care  of  the  people  upon  entering 
the  land  was  to  settle  their  families  and  make  a  beginning  of  new 
homes.  Naturally  they  gathered  in  the  old  villages  and  small  cities 
lying  adjacent  to  Jerusalem.  '^The  children  of  Israel  were  in  the 
cities."  Houses  had  to  be  built  or  old  ones  repaired,  and  fields  and 
vineyards  had  to  be  cleared  and  planted.  This  occupied  them  for 
several  months,  as  we  may  well  imagine.  Who  can  enter  into  their 
feelings  during  these  months?  The  old  men  and  women  remembered 
the  time  before  the  exile,  when  Jerusalem  was  in  her  glory,  wher.' 
the  Temple  stood  up  like  a  mountain  of  gold  in  the  sunlight,  when 
the  fields  were  fruitful  and  the  people  all  well-to-do.  Then  they 
had  forgotten  their  God  and  had  turned  to  idols,  and  given  them- 
selves up  to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.     Then  came  their  dreadful  punish- 


BUILDING   THE   ALTAR.  13 

ment ;  aud  now  the  mercy  of  God  was  returning  upon  them.  What 
stories  tlie  older  ones  must  have  told  the  younger ;  what  new  read- 
ing of  the  "Word ;  what  high  resolves ;  what  new  purposes !  One 
thing  was  certain,  that  among  all  the  furniture  and  effects  which 
the  exiles  brought  out  of  Babylon,  there  was  not  one  idol.  The 
exile  had  forever  cured  them  of  idolatry,  at  least  in  form,  for  from 
the  day  of  the  return  until  their  dispersion  after  the  rejection  of 
Christ  we  hear  of  no  false  gods  in  Israel. 

I.— BUILDING  THE  ALTAR. 

After  having  allowed  a  reasonable  time  for  the  people  to  get 
settled  in  the  land,  the  leaders  of  the  movement  and  Joshua  the 
high-priest  (Haggai  i,  1 ;  Zech.  iii,  1)  summoned  the  people  from  the 
cities  to  Jerusalem.  It  was  in  September  of  our  year,  the  seventh 
month  of  the  Jewish  year.  How  bitter  and  sorrowful  must  have 
been  their  emotions  as  the  people  assembled  within  the  broken-down 
walls  of  their  once  glorious  city,  now  a  vast  heap  of  rubbish.  The 
splendid  Temple  of  Solomon  that  had  been  the  pride  and  glory  of 
the  nation  for  centuries  was  "rased  to  the  very  foundations."  All 
was  ruin  and  desolation ;  but  God  had  brought  them  back  again,  a 
new  beginning  of  national  and  spiritual  life  was  before  them,  and 
"God  was  with  them." 

1.  "As  one  man." — So  the  graphic  historian  expresses  that 
first  assembly  in  Jerusalem  after  the  return.  "The  people  gath- 
ered themselves  together  as  one  man  to  Jerusalem."  There  is  a 
most  important  principle  in  this  action.  When  our  Lord  ascended 
to  heaven  and  left  his  disciples  to  begin  the  work  of  rearing  a  temple 
of  "living  stones  for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit,"  wo 
are  told  that  "they  were  with  one  accord  in  one  place"  (Acts  ii,  1), 
and  that  place  in  the  very  city  and  not  far  from  the  very  Temple 
which  these  exiles  were  now  gathered  to  rebuild.  Again  we  are 
told  that  those  first  disciples  ^^were  of  one  mind  and  one  heart." 
When  God's  people  are  agreed  together  as  touching  the  thing  they 
shall  ask,  and  will  do,  and  work  together  ''as  one  man,"  then  it  is 
that  they  are  found  irresistible  by  all  the  powers  of  the  world. 
Especially  is  this  so  wlien  they  are  gathered  about  the  altar  and  the 
temple  of  God,  which  altar  and  temple  Jesus  Christ  is  to  us. 

2.  Building  the  altar. — It  is  true  that  Cyrus  in  his  commission 
authorized  them  to  build  the  house  of  God,  but  the  great  and  pious 
leaders  began  their  work  wisely  by  first  building  again  the  old  ruined 
brazen  altar  for  the  burnt-sacrifices.     Worship  of  God  must  always 


1-1  REBUILDING   THE   TEMPLE. 

go  before  work  for  God,  or,  we  may  say,  reconciliation  precedes  serv- 
ice. The  religions  of  the  world  jiut  work  before  worship,  whereas 
the  true  order  is  first  worship  then  work,  first  life  and  then  service. 
We  do  not  work  to  live,  but  live  to  work.  ^'The  altar  before  the 
Temple."  The  burnt-offerings  consisted  first  of  the  ''whole  burnt- 
offering"  (Lev.  i,  4-9),  which  sets  forth  ''surrender  to  God";  the 
"meat-offering,"  a  part  of  which  was  consumed,  sets  forth  "a  pure 
and  holy  walk"  with  God  (Lev.  ii,  1-9) ;  the  "peace-offering"  (the 
fat  of  which  was  consumed)  sets  forth  "peace,  reconciliation,  and 
fellowship"  (Lev.  iii,  5)  between  God  and  the  people;  the  "sin-of- 
fering," the  fat  of  which  also  was  consumed,  sets  forth  our  justifi- 
cation; "the  trespass-offering,"  the  fat  of  which  was  consumed 
also,  sets  forth  the  forgiveness  of  recurring  sins  accompanied  with 
confession  and  restitution.  (Lev.  iv,  12.)  For  a  full  account  of 
these  offerings,  all  of  which  were  burnt  wholly  or  in  part,  the  first 
nine  chapters  of  Leviticus  should  be  carefully  studied — indeed,  the 
whole  of  that  priestly  book,  which  shows  us  the  way  to  God,  or  how 
a  sinful  man  may  come  into  God's  presence  and  live.  There  was, 
however,  a  daily  offering  of  "two  lambs  of  the  first  year  without 
spot,  day  by  day,  for  a  continual  burnt-offering,"  the  one  to  be 
offered  in  tlie  morning  and  the  other  in  the  evening.  (Num.  xxviii, 
3,  4,  6.)  In  these  daily  offerings  there  is  a  remembrance  of  all  the 
other  offerings,  and  they  set  forth  in  particular  the  great  and  com- 
plete offering  which  Jesus  made  of  himself  to  God  on  the  cross  "by 
the  Holy  Spirit."  (John  i,  29 ;  I.  Pet.  i,  19,  20 ;  Eev.  xiii,  8.)  This 
altar  "they  set  upon  his  bases."  I  suppose  we  are  to  understand 
by  this  that  they  searched  about  among  the  ruins  until  they  found 
the  old  foundations  of  the  "altar  of  burnt-offering"  as  it  had  stood 
in  the  days  before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple.  This  also  was 
wisely  and  well  done.  All  reformations  ought  to  begin  just  where 
the  old  duties  were  left  off ;  a  restoration  of  the  old  ways.  No  new 
foundations  are  needed  in  God's  work  or  worship,  and  the  returning 
backslider  must  take  up  his  cross  and  service  just  where  he  left  or 
abandoned  them.  Thus  did  these  wise  men  who  were  superintend- 
ing the  restoration  of  the  Temple.  They  sought  no  new  site  and 
laid  no  new  foundations.  "Fear  was  upon  them  because  of  the 
people  of  those  countries."  Surrounding  them  were  many  enemies. 
I  suppose  they  had  already  had  sharp  intimations  that  they  would 
not  be  allowed  to  restore  the  Temple  and  worship  God  without  op- 
position. There  is  never  a  lack  of  enemies  when  the  people  of  God 
begin  to  show  activity  either  in  the  way  of  religious  reformation  or 
aggressive  spiritual  work.     The  later  story  of  the  recolonization  of 


BUILDING   THE  ALTAR.  15 

the  land  by  the  Jews  returned  from  exile  tells  how  effectually  these 
enemies  worked,  and  how  heroically  at  last  the  devoted  Jews  (under 
Nehemiah  especially)  pushed  forward  the  work  of  restoring  both 
Temple  and  city.  David  sang  a  note  of  praise  to  God  for  preparing 
a  table  for  him  in  presence  of  his  enemies  (Ps.  xxiii,  5),  and  God's 
people  in  all  ages  have  had  joyful  occasion  to  sing  that  song  under 
many  very  different  circumstances.  In  this  world  we  must  expect 
tribulations,  fightings  from  without  and  fears  from  within,  but  the 
end  is  sure  to  be  victory  and  peace.  Let  us  never  hesitate  to  go  for- 
ward with  God's  work  because  of  the  presence  of  enemies ;  and  let 
us  be  sure  to  gather  as  one  man  about  a  restored  or  rebuilt  altar,  if 
we  hope  for  success  in  our  undertakings. 

3.  The  feast  of  tabernacles. — This  ancient  festival  was  re- 
stored by  these  exiles.  One  of  the  best  things  which  Ezra  accom- 
plished for  the  people  of  God  was  the  restoration  to  them  of  the  law 
of  God  (which  had  been  lost)  and  the  revival  of  the  reading  and 
study  of  it.  We  are  told  that  this  excellent  man  '^  prepared  his 
heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it,  and  to  teach  in  Israel 
statutes  and  judgments."  (vii,  10.)  Among  the  things  discovered 
by  his  searching  of  the  law  was  the  long-neglected  feast  of  taber- 
nacles, which  had  not  been  observed  for  many  centuries,  even  since 
the  days  of  Joshua.  (Neh.  viii,  14-17.)  This  feast  was  instituted 
by  Moses  at  the  command  of  God,  to  remind  them  that  they  were 
pilgrims  and  strangers  in  the  earth  (Lev.  xxiii,  34-36),  even  when 
they  had  built  for  themselves  houses  and  permanent  abodes.  There- 
fore at  the  recurrence  of  the  feast  of  harvest  the  people  were  com- 
manded to  "gather  them  boughs  and  build  them  booths  on  the 
house-tops,  in  the  streets,  and  about  the  courts  of  the  Temple"  (Neh. 
viii,  15-17),  and  in  them  to  dwell  for  seven  days,  rejoicing  that  God 
was  their  true  habitation  and  not  houses  built  with  hands,  and  that 
he  was  to  be  ever  their  portion,  rather  than  the  things  of  this  world. 
It  is  a  lesson  of  which  we  ought  ever  to  be  reminding  ourselves. 

4.  All  the  feasts  restored. — In  connection  with  this  new  set- 
tlement of  Judea  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  the 
entire  round  of  Levitical  sacrifices  was  restored,  and  perhaps  more 
completely  observed  than  ever  since  the  people  first  came  out  of 
Egypt.  There  is  an  expression  in  the  fourth  verse  which  is  most 
suggestive  :  "As  the  duty  of  each  day  required."  There  are  indeed 
set  times  and  seasons  for  special  service  in  connection  with  the  true 
life  of  every  child  of  God ;  but  there  is  no  day  that  does  not  bring 
with  it  its  duty.  He  is  the  best  Christian  who  serves  God  every  day 
"as  the  duty  of  each  day  requires."     We  are  suffering  a  great  curse 


16  REBUILDING   THE   TEMPLE. 

from  the  multitude  of  ^'Sunday  Christians,"  who  seem  to  commute 
all  service  of  God  during  the  whole  week  by  a  formal  act  of  worship 
on  the  first  day.  It  has  been  well  said  that  the  world  watches  the 
professor  of  religion  on  Monday  to  see  what  he  means  by  going  to 
church  on  Sunday.  If  we  are  found  doing  daily  "  the  duties  which 
each  day  requires,"  the  world  will  not  doubt  the  sincerity  of  our 
Sabbath  worship,  and  will  be  constrained  to  believe  that  the  life  of 
the  Christian  is  a  real  one.  To  be  a  saint  at  Church  and  a  devil  or 
a  worldling  in  our  homes  or  places  of  business  is  only  to  blaspheme 
the  name  of  God  and  to  cause  the  world  to  mock. 

II.— LAYING  THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  TEMPLE. 

Hitherto  the  people  had  been  busy  settling  themselves  in  the 
land.  Their  first  formal  act  in  connection  with  the  restoration  had 
been  accomplished  in  rebuilding  the  altar  of  the  Lord  and  re-estab- 
lishing the  round  of  sacred  feasts  and  services.  For  seven  days 
they  had  lived  in  booths,  but  as  yet  the  "  foundation  of  the  Temple 
of  the  Lord  was  not  laid."  The  time  had  now  come  to  begin  that 
great  work. 

1.  The  employment  of  masons  and  carpenters. — The  first 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  gather  together  material  for  this  work. 
Money  had  been  already  freely  contributed  by  the  returning  exiles 
and  by  many  of  their  friends  and  brethren  who  had  remained  be- 
hind in  Babylon,  (i,  6 ;  ii,  69.)  With  this  workmen  were  employed. 
The  stone  necessary  was  quarried  from  the  great  rocky  beds  near 
by ;  the  timbers  which  had  been  burned  at  the  destruction  of  the 
Temple  had  to  be  replaced  from  the  forests  of  Lebanon,  and  thence 
brought  by  sea  from  Joppa,  just  as  it  was  done  in  the  time  of  the 
building  of  the  first  Temple  by  Solomon.  (I.  Kings  v,  6-11.)  For 
this  purpose  workmen  were  employed  from  Tyre  and  Zidon,  and 
they  were  paid  out  of  the  grant  which  Cyrus  had  made  from  the 
government  treasury.  (Ezra  iii,  7;  vi,  8.)  This  preparatory  work 
was  long  and  tedious,  for  it  required  nearly  two  years  to  clear  away 
the  ruins  and  prepare  the  material  for  laying  the  foundations.  But 
no  time  is  wasted  in  laying  well  and  strongly  the  foundations  for 
God's  temple.  Good  after-building  often  comes  to  grief  because 
foundation  work  is  poorly  done.  "Make  haste  slowly"  is  a  good 
proverb,  even  though  not  an  inspired  one. 

2.  The  work  set  forward. — After  two  years  spent  in  gathering 
and  preparing  the  material,  Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua  gathered  their 
brethren  and  the  Levites  from  twenty  years  old  and  upward,  and 


LAYING   THE   FOUNDATIONS   OF   THE   TEMPLE.       17 

appointed  them  overseers  of  the  work,  and  they  m  their  turn  mar- 
shaled the  various  workmen,  skilled  mechanics  and  laborers,  masons, 
carpenters,  and  common  workmen,  and  the  work  was  begun  with 
energy.  How  glad  a  day  it  must  have  been  when  the  people  saw 
the  constructive  work  actually  begun !  There  are  in  all  this  wise 
lessons  of  orderly  arrangement,  and  provision  for  wise  direction 
and  supervision.  "To  every  man  his  work."  (Mark  xiii,  34.)  All 
honor  to  the  Levites  and  master-workmen,  but  all  honor  also  to 
those  who  were  appointed  to  do  the  humbler  but  no  less  necessary 
labor.  It  is  beautiful  to  see  brethren  "dwelling  together  in  unity," 
but  even  more  inspiring  to  see  them  "working  together  with  God" 
(II.  Cor.  vi,  1)  harmoniously  and  enthusiastically,  each  one  glad  and 
happy  to  do  that  which  his  hands  find  to  do  vrith.  all  his  might,  the 
lowly  workman  not  envious  of  the  higher  estate  of  the  brother  over 
him,  and  the  brother  in  the  high  place  not  despising  but  honoring 
the  "man  of  low  estate,"  each  counting  it  an  honor  to  be  permitted 
to  do  anything  for  God. 

3.  The  fotindation  laid. — Here  we  have  the  origin  of  our  mod- 
ern ceremonies  in  connection  with  the  laying  of  the  foundation- 
stones  of  new  buildings,  especially  those  dedicated  to  God.  The 
priests  were  clad  in  their  holy  vestments ;  the  Levites  arranged  with 
the  singers  to  conduct  the  service  of  praise — the  sons  of  Asaph  with 
their  cymbals,  arranged  after  the  ordinance  of  Da^dd.  (I.  Chron. 
\i,  31 ;  x\i,  4 ;  xxv,  1 ;  Neh.  xii,  24.)  They  sang  together  by  course, 
"praising  and  giving  thanks  mito  the  Lord :  because  he  is  good,  and 
his  mercy  endureth  forever,"  The  whole  Psalms,  which  they  sang 
thus  by  part  and  in  course,  were  most  likely  the  106th,  107th,  136th, 
137th,  and  perhaps  others.  In  these  Psalms  at  least  we  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  spiritual  attitude  of  the  people  toward  God  while  they  were 
engaged  in  rebuilding  his  Temple.  God's  work  is  happy  and  joyful 
work,  and  when  the  heart  is  glad  with  gratitude  and  the  lips  vocal 
with  praise,  then  the  labor  of  our  hands  is  light.  A  thankless  heart 
is  a  heavy  one,  and  work  done  without  gladness  is  drudgery.  In 
response  to  the  singers,  and  when  the  foundation  was  formally  de- 
clared to  be  laid,  the  assembled  multitude  shouted  with  a  great  shout 
of  gladness  because  the  foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  was  laid. 

4.  Tears  mingled  with  song,  and  weeping  with  the  noise  of 
shouting. — A  smile  and  a  tear  lie  often  close  beside  each  other  on 
the  faces  of  men.  It  was  so  here.  Among  the  multitude  of  those 
present  were  old  men  who  had  seen  the  first  Temple  and  aU  the 
glory  of  the  "  holy  city  "  when  Solomon's  house  of  cedar  and  ivory 
was  still  standing.     They  were  glad  for  the  new  building,  but  they 


18  EEBUILDING  THE   TEMPLE. 

could  not  help  contrasting  its  proposed  proportions  with  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  old  one.  Perhaps  their  hearts  were  bowed  with  sorrow 
at  the  remembrance  of  the  sins  of  their  fathers  (and  possibly  their 
own)  which  had  brought  such  ruin  and  desolation  upon  the  nation 
and  the  house  which  they  were  now  permitted  to  assist  in  repairing. 
I  have  seen  a  mother  smiling  and  weeping  at  the  birth  of  a  babe — 
smiling  with  joy  that  to  her  another  child  was  given,  weeping  at  the 
remembrance  of  one  erstwhile  taken  from  her.  This  new  Temple 
was  indeed  a  beautiful  building,  but  it  could  never  be  to  them  what 
the  old  one  had  been.  In  this  Temple  was  no  Ark  of  the  Covenant ; 
no  radiant  Shekinah ;  no  more  the  answers  by  Urim  and  Thummim ; 
and  with  the  building  of  this  Temple  the  prophetic  fire  of  the  nation 
went  out,  for  after  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi  no  other  prophet 
arose  in  Israel  until  John  the  Baptist.  Yet  a  greater  glory  was  in 
reserve  for  this  minor  Temple,  even  the  actual  appearance  in  it  of 
the  Incarnate  Son  of  God.  Perhaps  this  is  what  is  meant  by  the 
prediction  that  "the  glory  of  the  latter  house  shall  be  greater  than 
that  of  the  former."  (Hag.  ii,  9.)  "We  may  fairly  infer,  however, 
that  the  joy  was  in  excess  of  the  sorrow.  Needless  weeping  over 
past  glories  is  not  meet,  for  weeping  will  not  bring  them  back  to  us  ; 
but  we  may  well  shout  as  we  turn  our  faces  toward  the  future  to  be- 
gin afresh  the  work  of  God,  trusting  to  his  promises  of  grace. 


III. 

ENCOURAGING    THE    PEOPLE.— Haggai   ii,    1-9. 

(1)  In  the  seventh  month,  in  the  one  and  twentieth  clay  of  the  month, 
came  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet  Haggai,  saying,  (2)  Speak  now 
to  Zerubbabel  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  governor  of  Judah,  and  to  Joshua  the 
son  of  Josedech,  the  high  priest,  and  to  the  residue  of  the  people,  saying, 
(3)  Who  is  left  among  you  that  saw  this  house  in  her  first  glory?  and  how 
do  ye  see  it  now?  is  it  not  in  your  eyes  in  comparison  of  it  as  nothing?  (4) 
Yet  now  be  strong,  O  Zerubbabel,  saith  the  Lord ;  and  be  strong,  O  Joshua, 
son  of  Josedech,  the  high  priest ;  and  be  strong,  all  ye  people  of  the  land, 
saith  the  Lord,  and  work :  for  I  am  with  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts :  (5) 
According  to  the  word  that  I  covenanted  with  you  when  ye  came  out  of 
Egypt,  so  my  Spirit  remaineth  among  you :  fear  ye  not.  (6)  For  thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts;  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land ;  (7)  And  I  will  shake 
all  nations,  and  the  Desire  of  all  nations  shall  come:  and  I  will  fill  this 
house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  (8)  The  silver  is  mine,  and  the 
gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  (9)  The  glory  of  this  latter  house 
shall  be  greater  than  of  the  former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts :  and  in  this 
place  will  I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.— Haggai  ii,  1-9. 

The  historical  setting  of  this  prophecy  is  found  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  Ezra.  The  return  of  the  Jews  to  their  own 
land,  the  relaying  of  the  foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and 
their  evident  purpose  of  restoring  their  nationality  around  the  re- 
built Temple,  had  excited  the  jealousy  and  enmity  of  their  heathen 
neighbors,  and  especially  of  the  Samaritans,  who,  as  soon  as  they 
discovered  the  intention  of  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua,  made  overtures 
to  them  to  be  allowed  to  join  with  them  in  the  work.  To  this  prop- 
osition Zerubbabel  returned  a  prompt  negative,  saying,  "Ye  have 
nothing  to  do  with  us  to  build  an  house  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  but 
we  ourselves  together  will  build  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  as 
Cjnrus  king  of  Persia  hath  commanded  us,"  (Ezra  iv,  3.)  This 
answer  and  the  reason  assigned,  that  the  Samaritans  were  not  of 
the  stock  of  Israel  (which  they  affected  to  be),  enraged  them  against 
the  Jews,  and  moved  them  to  stir  up  the  oflBcials  in  the  province 
against  them.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  Cyrus  ever  in  the  least 
altered  his  purpose  toward  the  Jews  ;  but  in  his  many  absences  from 
Babylon,  attending  to  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom  and  carrying  on 
various  wars,  these  intriguers  were  enabled  to  worry  and  perplex  the 
Jews  very  much.     During  the  lifetime  of  Cyrus  the  work  went  on 


20  ENCOURAGING  THE  PEOPLE. 

slowly,  and  in  the  midst  of  much  embarrassment.  Afterward  the 
enemies  were  enabled  to  find  more  sympathy  with  the  successors  of 
Cyrus,  especially  in  Artaxerxes,  as  detailed  in  the  fom-th  chapter  of 
Ezra,  until  the  work,  by  royal  command,  was  brought  to  a  standstill. 
Space  does  not  allow  us  to  enter  into  discussion  and  explanations 
concerning  the  condition  of  the  Persian  Empire  or  kingdom  during 
the  stormy  years  of  battle,  rebellion,  and  strife  which  went  on  after 
the  death  of  Cyi'us  until  the  reign  of  Darius.  About  fifteen  years 
had  elapsed  since  work  on  the  Temple  had  ceased.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  provinces  of  the  kingdom  were  much  unsettled,  and  the 
Jews  (with  other  weak  colonies)  had  suffered  much  from  the  incur- 
sions and  raids  of  the  rebellious  neighboring  princes.  Civil  war  had 
raged  around  them,  and  armies  passed  over  their  lands  and  fields. 
Famine  had  followed  upon  war,  and  a  state  of  general  and  lament- 
able distress  had  set  in.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Haggai,  the  prophet 
of  the  Lord,  appeared  among  them  and  began  to  stir  up  the  people 
again  concerning  the  building  of  the  Temple.  He  reproached  them 
for  allowing  the  work  to  cease  for  so  long  a  time,  while  they  were 
dwelling  in  ceiled  houses  and  looking  entirely  after  their  own  per- 
sonal interests.  He  declared  that  much  of  their  trouble  and  distress 
was  owing  to  their  unfaithfulness  in  the  matter  of  the  Temple.  It 
is  true  that  under  a  former  dynasty  they  had  been  stopped  from 
building ;  but  they  had  not  taken  advantage  of  opportunities  which 
had  opened  up  in  the  meantime.  In  fact,  they  had  settled  down 
into  a  kind  of  despair,  saying  that  the  time  for  rebuilding  the  Temple 
had  not  come,  and  losing  both  faith  and  heart  in  the  enterprise. 
For  an  account  of  the  first  message  of  the  prophet  to  them,  read  the 
first  chapter  of  Haggai's  prophecy.  To  allow  the  work  of  the  Lord 
to  cease  is  a  certain  way  to  spiritual  decline,  for  nothing  is  so  dis- 
astrous to  the  cause  of  Christ  as  inactivity  and  the  cessation  of  ag- 
gressive work.  We  must  expect  the  enemies  to  hinder  and  harass 
us,  but  we  are  in  no  case  to  give  in  and  say,  "  It  is  not  the  Lord's 
time  to  work."  It  is  always  God's  time  ;  and  God's  people  must  al- 
ways be  on  the  alert  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  for 
pushing  on  this  work. 

I.— A  DESPONDENT  PEOPLE. 

The  first  effect  of  the  stirring  rebuke  of  the  prophet  was  to  arouse 
the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  and  to  awaken  among  them  a 
little  enthusiasm  in  the  re-undertaking  of  the  work  of  building.  The 
spirits  of  the  governor,  of  the  high-priest,  and  all  the  people  ''were 


SYMPATHY  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT.        21 

stirred  up,  and  they  came  and  did  work  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  their  God."  (Haggai  i,  14.)  But  a  very  few  weeks  passed, 
and  the  momentary  enthusiasm  again  died  away.  It  is  true  that  God 
had  promised  them,  saying,  "  I  am  with  you  "  ;  but  this  was  not  suffi- 
cient encouragement  to  them  against  the  mourning  and  croaking  of 
the  old  men,  who  pointed  out  the  comparative  meanness  of  the  pro- 
portions of  this  new  Temple.  They  remembered  the  Temple  of  Solo- 
mon when  the  Ark  was  there,  when  the  Shekinah  was  over  the 
mercy-seat,  and  the  thousands  of  costly  vessels  of  gold  and  the 
golden  shields  were  there ;  they  recalled  the  magnificence  of  those 
days,  and  the  fact  that  the  Temple  was  overlaid  with  pure  gold,  and 
that  regal  magnificence  was  everywhere  present ;  and  they  were 
probably  saying  to  the  younger  men  :  "  What  is  the  use  of  rebuilding 
this  Temple  ?  Yoii  can  never  restore  the  old  glory ;  at  best  when 
this  one  is  finished  it  ■yvill  be  a  poor  affair ;  and  what  will  the  Temple 
be  without  the  Ark,  the  mercy-seat,  the  Shekinah,  and  the  Urim  and 
Thummim?  Why  not  be  content  with  the  altar  which  we  at  least 
have  still,  and  on  which  we  can  offer  the  necessary  sacrifices?  Be- 
sides, we  are  too  poor  to  go  on  with  the  work.  Here  is  the  end  of 
the  harvest,  the  time  for  a  festival  of  gladness  and  joy,  and  our  fields 
are  bare,  our  crops  are  blighted,  and  we  are  on  the  verge  of  ruin. 
(Haggai  i,  7-11.)  It  was  indeed  a  dark  hour  with  them.  The  prom- 
ise of  God  and  the  providence  of  God  seemed  not  to  agree  together, 
and  the  voices  of  the  old  and  discouraged  men  prevailed  to  quench 
the  young  fires  of  enthusiasm  which  had  begun  to  burn  afresh  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  Nothing  is  so  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  God 
as  discouragement.  God  can  do  nothing  with  a  disheartened,  hope- 
less man.  Besides,  it  is  a  notable  fact  that  a  few  croakers  and  dis- 
couraging men  in  a  church  or  a  community  can  do  more  in  a  week 
to  hinder  the  work  of  God  than  a  whole  brigade  of  enthusiasts  can 
do  to  set  the  work  forward.  How  often  do  we  fall  upon  exactly  the 
same  thing  now  as  is  here  depicted.  The  old  people  are  discour- 
aged; they  see  their  poverty;  they  contrast  the  present  with  the 
past  (always  unfavorably) ;  they  know  that  they  have  not  long  to 
live,  and  the  present  order  will  last  through  their  day ;  and  so  they 
discourage  all  forward  movements  and  "hinder  the  work." 

II.— SYMPATHY  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT. 

At  this  critical  moment  the  prophet  appeared  again  to  Zerubbabel 
and  Joshua  and  to  the  "residue  of  the  people."  (Haggai  ii,  2.)  In 
his  former  address  the  prophet  had  spoken  with  words  of  burning 


22  ENCOURAGING   THE   PEOPLE. 

and  sharp  indignation.  He  noAV  begins  his  address  with  more  s>^n- 
pathy  and  consideration,  especially  for  the  old  and  discouraged  men. 
Pie  was  himself  an  old  man,  and  also  remembered  the  Temple  of 
Solomon  and  its  glories. 

1.  Sympathy. — "Who  is  there  among  you  that  saw  this  house 
in  her  first  glory  ?  "  "  I  know,"  he  seems  to  say,  "  how  naturally  you 
look  upon  the  present  undertaking  with  sadness,  and  can  feel  no 
pride  in  the  building,  for  even  when  it  is  finished,  in  your  eyes  it  will 
be  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  former  Temple.  At  best  this 
to  you  is  but  a  day  of  small  things." .  (Zech.  iv,  10.)  "I  have  natu- 
rally something  of  the  same  feeling  myself,  but  we  are  to  look  be- 
yond to  possibly  better  things  in  store  for  us,  according  to  the  prom- 
ise and  purpose  of  God."  It  must  be  right  for  us  to  go  forward  not 
looking  backward,  since  it  is  God's  command  and  God's  work.  He 
will  take  care  of  his  own.  We  are  but  his  servants,  and  the  glory 
is  not  ours  but  his.  God  does  not  repeat  himself.  It  is  well  enough 
to  look  back  over  the  past  and  thank  God  for  it,  and  learn  by  the 
experience  gained  there,  but  it  is  never  wise  to  make  the  past  our 
standard  for  the  future.  It  is  better,  it  nmst  be  better,  farther  on, 
if  only  we  are  faithful  to  the  present  duty. 

2.  Encouragement. — Turning  from  the  old  men  and  their  de- 
pression, he  now  speaks  stirring  words  to  Zerubbabel,  to  Joshua, 
and  to  the  people.  In  the  former  interview  he  rang  out  rebuke. 
"Consider  your  ways."  "Consider  your  ways."  Now  he  shouts  out, 
with  enthusiasm  in  his  voice,  and  inspiration  in  his  spirit :  "  Be 
strong."  "Be  strong."  "Be  strong."  The  same  word  for  the  gov- 
ernor, the  high-priest,  and  the  people.  God's  work  is  difficult  work ; 
it  toill  be  opposed  by  enemies  who  will  seek  to  embarrass  and  hinder. 
Therefore  it  requires  that  we  be  strong.  "  Be  strong  in  the  Lord 
and  in  the  power  of  his  might,"  said  Paul  to  the  Ephesians.  ''Quit 
you  like  men."  ''Only  be  strong  and  of  good  courage,"  said  the 
Lord  to  Joshua  the  great  captain,  when  he  was  about  to  lead  the 
people  up  into  the  land.  "And  work,"  said  the  aged  prophet. 
There  is  no  use  of  stirring  up  your  spirit  and  making  you  strong  in 
purpose  unless  you  also  "work."  Lay  your  hands  to  the  business 
before  you.  Don't  stop  to  conciliate  all  your  enemies  and  get  all 
your  difficulties  out  of  the  way;  but  begin  and  "work,"  "work," 
"work."  "My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work,"  said  Jesus. 
"I  must  work,"  again  he  said,  and  yet  again:  "My  meat  and  my 
drink  is  to  work."  Surely,  then,  it  is  not  for  us  to  sit  idly  down  dis- 
cussing the  business  of  building  God's  house,  but  to  throw  ourselves 
at  once  into  the  work.     "  Work  in  faith  and  labor  in  love,  and  the 


GREAT    THINGS   TO   COME.  23 

end  is  certain  to  be  all  and  more  than  we  could  ask  or  think,  for  God 
is  able  to  make  the  labor  of  our  hands  abound  and  prosper. " 

3.  Promises. — He  does  not  bid  them  work  blindly,  but  encour- 
ages them  with  good  promises  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  He  had 
already  repeated  to  them  the  word  of  the  Lord:  ''Fori  am  with 
you"  (Haggai  i,  13) ;  and  now  he  reiterated  these  words  to  them  (v. 
4).  If  God  be  with  us  it  does  not  matter  how  many  or  who  are 
against  us.  We  cannot  fail  when  working  together  with  him.  "We 
must  not  fall  into  the  mistake  of  interpreting  God  and  his  promises 
by  outward  circumstances,  but  rather  let  us  learn  how  to  read  cir- 
cumstances in  the  light  of  God's  promise.  The  prophet  further  re- 
minded them  that  God  had  not  forgotten  his  covenant  which  ho 
made  with  them  when  they  came  out  of  Egypt.  (Ex.  xxix,  45,  46.) 
They  had  suffered  ''his  breach  of  promise"  (Num.  xiv,  34),  by  for- 
getting and  disobeying  him,  but  now  that  they  had  returned  to  them 
he  renewed  the  old  covenant  with  them.  Moreover,  "My  spirit  re- 
maineth  among  you."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  though  God  had  sent 
them  into  exile  and  removed  his  Shekinah  from  them,  his  Spirit  had 
never  left  them,  and  dwelt  among  them  still.  How  good  God  is  to 
us.  Even  though  he  is  compelled  to  withdraw  his  face  from  us 
because  of  our  sins,  yet  does  he  not  utterly  abandon  us,  and  with 
everlasting  mercies  he  returns  to  us.  "Fear  not,"  continued  the 
prophet.  Let  nothing  discourage  you.  God  is  with  you,  and  will  be 
faithful  to  his  word,  for  his  own  name's  sake.  His  honor  and  glory 
are  at  stake  in  this  thing,  therefore  lay  hand  to  work ;  stay  not  nor 
slacken  till  the  house  be  completed.      "Do  the  next  thing." 

III.— GREAT  THINGS  TO  COME. 

Now  the  prophet  proceeds  to  interpret  the  past  and  to  point  out 
some  things  in  the  future.  They  were  grieving  because  their  recent 
calamities  had  so  largely  destroyed  their  ancient  glories.  He  had  by 
the  destruction  of  their  former  Temple  and  by  suffering  them  to  be 
taken  into  exile  "  shaken  "  the  nation  to  its  very  foundations.  "Well, 
that  nation  had  been  gathered  about  a  visible  temple,  a  visible  king, 
and  an  external  service.  These  were  but  the  scaffoldings  of  a  real 
building,  the  outward  signs  of  a  spiritual  reality.  They  were  never 
intended  to  be  permanent,  and  therefore  they  were  shaken  down. 
This  Temple  was  disappointing  to  the  old  men ;  it  did  not  restore 
the  old  glory.  Even  so.  God  did  not  mean  to  restore  the  old  glory, 
but  to  bring  in  a  new  glory.  Even  this  Temple  was  not  to  be  per- 
manent.    It  also  must  bo  but  temporary.     There  was  to  be  another 


24  ENCOURAGING  THE   PEOPLE. 

shaking  and  another  period  of  disturbance  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  "  The  heavens  and  the  earth  and  the  sea."  These  are  strong 
figures  of  speech,  taken  from  the  most  violent  possible  powers  and 
elements  in  nature,  to  convey  to  them  something  of  what  was  soon 
to  take  place  among  the  nations.  The  empire  of  Darius  would  pass 
away  amidst  great  commotion ;  Alexander  the  Great  would  rise, 
flourish,  and  perish  amid  splendid  victories ;  the  new  Eoman  power 
would  come,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  glory  of  Greece  would  wane. 
In  all  these  things  God's  guiding  hand  would  be  present.  Old 
dynasties,  old  religions,  and  hoary  superstitions  would  perish.  The 
world  would  grow  weary  with  the  old  order  of  things.  All  confi- 
dence in  God  and  men  would  perish.  In  the  meantime  he  would 
keep  his  people  in  comparative  safety,  and  the  present  Temple  would 
serve  its  purpose.  Let  them  not  lament  the  passing  away  of  the 
former  glory,  nor  belittle  the  existence  of  the  present  order.  They 
did  not  know  it,  but  God  was  even  now  training  them  to  a  more 
spiritual  conception  of  himself,  by  withdrawing  many  of  the  out- 
ward glories  of  the  old  dispensation.  He  was  weaning  them  from 
the  house  of  the  Lord  to  show  them  the  Lord  himself.  He  was 
teaching  them  that  God  was  greater  than  the  Temple,  that  his  sway 
was  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  their  own  little  land,  and  that  his 
purposes  were  widening  out  to  embrace  all  nations.  A  new  dispen- 
sation was  coming.  By  looking  forward  and  not  backward,  let  them 
be  prepared  for  it. 

1.  "  The  Desire  of  all  nations  shall  come."  (Haggai  ii,  7.) — 
Hitherto  the  Jews  had  supposed  themselves  to  be  the  only  objects 
of  God's  care  and  purpose.  The  rest  of  the  nations  were  of  no  conse- 
quence to  them,  or  (in  their  judgment)  of  no  consequence  to  God. 
But  the  prophet  now  opens  up  to  them  the  fact  that  among  all  na- 
tions there  was  an  expectation  and  a  desire.  Steadily  the  world 
was  growing  weary  with  the  constant  rise  and  fall  of  human  govern- 
ments, the  conflict  and  strife  between  scores  of  old  superstitions. 
The  gods  of  the  heathen  were  being  seen  to  be  vanity.  The  nations 
were  longing  for  some  revelation  from  heaven,  some  manifestation 
of  power  from  on  high  in  which  they  might  find  peace.  This  desire 
was  to  be  fuLfQled  in  the  coming  of  Christ,  "  The  Desire  of  all  na- 
tions." This  Temple  which  they  were  now  building  was  to  be  the 
place  of  his  advent.  "He  would  suddenly  come  to  his  Temple." 
(Mai.  iii,  1.)  The  Ark  and  the  Shekinah  of  the  old  Temple  which 
they  were  bemoaning  were  but  the  shadows  which  testified  to  the 
coming  substance.  When  the  shadows  were  shortened  they  might 
be  sure  that  the  substance  was  near  at  hand.     Look  not,  then,  back- 


GREAT   THINGS   TO   COME.  25 

ward  to  the  shadow,  but  forward  to  the  substance.  When  he  shall 
come  to  this  house  he  will  fill  it  with  glory;  aye,  with  a  glory 
more  resplendent  than  the  glory  which  filled  the  Temple  of  Solomon 
when  it  was  dedicated  amid  pomp  and  splendor.  (II.  Chron.  vii, 
1,  2.)  They  were  discouraged  because  the  glory  had  departed  from 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  but  they  would  yet  be  filled  with  wonder  at  a 
new  glory.  Not  indeed  a  glory  that  should  captivate  the  eye.  Not 
a  material  glory,  but  a  spiritual  and  moral  glory  which  should  trans- 
form the  spirit  and  charm  the  soul.  As  for  the  silver  and  the  gold 
lacking  in  the  construction  and  the  furnishing  of  this  house,  the 
prophet  expressly  declared  that  they  were  not  lacking  because  God 
had  no  power  over  these  treasures  of  the  earth,  for  "  the  silver  and 
the  gold  are  mine."  God  could  easily  fill  this  new  Temple  with 
white  and  yellow  wealth;  he  could  overlay  it  with  gold  until  it 
would  shine  again  as  in  days  of  old ;  but  he  was  to  adorn  it  with  a 
better  kind  of  gold.  Faith  "  tried  in  the  fire  "  and  more  precious 
than  gold  (I.  Pet.  i,  7)  shall  be  the  glory  of  the  new  dispensation  to 
be  inaugurated  in  this  Temple,  which  to  the  old  men  seemed  so 
mean  by  comparison  with  that  of  Solomon. 

2.  Th.e  glory  of  the  latter  house. — This  new  and  less  mag- 
nificent Temple  was  to  have  a  glory  all  its  own,  in  the  more  spiritual 
worship  to  be  inaugurated  in  it,  which,  according  to  the  estimate 
God  puts  upon  things,  rendered  it  more  glorious  than  that  of 
Solomon,  even  before  the  chief  glory  came,  which  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh  came  to  pass,  when  Christ  was  presented  there  by  his  parents 
for  consecration,  when  he  afterward  tarried  there  to  discuss  great 
questions  with  the  doctors,  when,  as  the  "  Messenger  of  the  Cove- 
nant," he  appeared  and  drove  out  the  money-changers,  and  when  in 
after  years  he  trod  its  courts  teaching,  healing,  and  declaring  God's 
love  and  forgiveness  to  sinners.  The  true  glory  of  this  prediction 
is  to  be  understood  in  its  relation  to  Christ.  When  Jesus  was  in  the 
Temple  (John  ii,  18,  19)  and  the  priests  asked  him  for  his  authority 
for  his  actions  there,  he  identified  himself  in  some  sort  with  it,  say- 
ing :  "Destroy  this  Temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  build  it  again." 
The  true  glory  of  God  is  to  be  found  in  the  spiritual  treasures  which 
he  bestows  on  men,  and  not  in  the  material  wealth  which  he  gives 
them.  Had  a  thousand  times  more  gold  than  Solomon  lavished  on 
his  Temple  been  gathered  for  the  adornment  of  this  second  one,  it 
would  have  paled  before  the  revelation  of  him  who  "  is  the  express 
image  of  his  Father's  person  and  the  very  brightness  of  his  glory." 
The  same  may  be  said  of  men,  as  is  here  taught  concerning  these 
two  temples.    The  true  glory  of  man  is  to  be  seen  not  in  the  splendor 


26  ENCOURAGING  THE  PEOPLE. 

of  outward  appearance,  pomp,  riches  of  apx>arel,  and  magnificence 
of  dwellings,  but  in  the  righteousness  and  si:)irituality  of  their  lives 
and  characters.  And  if  this  is  true  of  men,  it  is  much  more  true  of 
churches.  That  is  the  most  glorious  church  where  the  Spirit  and 
power  of  God  are  most  habitually  manifested  in  the  spirituality  of 
its  members,  and  in  the  number  of  souls  converted  to  God.  There 
is  many  a  splendid  cathedral  whose  architectural  glory  and  the 
wealth  of  whose  plate  and  art  treasures  are  as  nothing  in  comparison 
with  some  little  dissenting  chapel  or  humble  parish  church  where 
the  Lord  Christ  is  exalted  before  the  people,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
accompanies  the  more  simple  sermon  of  the  unknown  preacher, 
though  it  may  not  be  printed  and  given  to  the  world  as  the  great 
intellectual  effort  of  some  man  of  fame. 

3.  "  In  this  place  will  I  give  peace."  (Haggai  ii,  9.) — ^AU  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  Solomon's  Temple  never  brought  peace  to 
the  conscience,  and  all  the  glories  of  its  architectural  beauty  and 
dazzling  decorations  never  conferred  comfort  on  a  troubled  soul.  In 
that  Temple  there  was  "a  remembrance  every  year,  and  in  every 
sacrifice  of  sin  " ;  but  in  this  Temple  Jesus  the  Prince  of  Peace  came 
and  preached  peace — peace  of  conscience  and  rest  of  soul. 

How  little  can  we  judge  aright  by  looking  on  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  things,  either  of  men  or  places.  Young  David  was  better  in 
God's  sight  than  his  stalwart  elder  brothers.  The  two  mites  of  the 
poor  widow  were  of  more  value  in  God's  sight  than  all  the  great  gifts 
of  the  proud  rich  men.  When  will  we  ever  learn  that  great  lesson 
that  Paul  teaches  when  he  says  :  "  We  look  not  at  the  things  which 
are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen ;  for  the  things  which 
are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eter- 
nal. For  we  know  that,  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were 
dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."     (II.  Cor.  iv,  18- v,  1.) 


IV. 

JOSHUA   THE    HIGH-PRIEST.— Zechariah    iii,   i-io. 

(1)  And  lie  shewed  me  Joshua  the  high  priest  standing  before  the  angel 
of  the  Lord,  and  Satan  standing  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him.  (2)  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee,  O  Satan ;  even  the  Lord 
that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem  rebuke  thee:  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out 
of  the  fire?  (3)  Now  Joshua  was  clothed  with  filth j^  garments,  and  stood 
before  the  angel.  (4)  And  he  answered  and  spake  unto  those  that  stood  be- 
fore him,  saying.  Take  away  the  filthy  garments  from  him.  And  unto  him 
he  said.  Behold,  I  have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass  from  thee,  and  I  will 
clothe  thee  with  change  of  raiment.  (5)  And  I  said.  Let  them  set  a  fair 
mitre  upon  his  head.  So  they  set  a  fair  mitre  upon  his  head,  and  clothed 
him  with  garments.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  by.  (6)  And  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  protested  unto  Joshua,  saying,  (7)  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts ;  If  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  ways,  and  if  thou  wilt  keep  my  charge, 
then  thou  shalt  also  judge  my  house,  and  shalt  also  keep  my  courts,  and  I 
will  give  thee  places  to  walk  among  these  that  stand  by!  (8)  Hear  now,  O 
Joshua  the  high  priest,  thou,  and  thy  fellows  that  sit  before  thee :  for  they 
are  men  wondered  at:  for,  behold,  I  will  bring  forth  my  servant  the 
BRANCH.  (9)  For  behold  the  stone  that  I  have  laid  before  Joshua ;  upon 
one  stone  shall  be  seven  eyes :  behold,  I  will  engrave  the  graving  thereof, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will  remove  the  iniquity  of  that  land  in  one 
day.  (10)  In  that  day,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  shall  ye  call  every  man  his 
neighbour  under  the  vine  and  under  the  fig  tree.— Zechariah  iii,  1-10. 

There  are  no  less  than  twelve  men  of  note  in  the  Jewish  Chron- 
icles called  by  name  Zechariah,  but  this  prophet  is  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  them  all.  He  was  (so  far  as  we  can  gather)  a  much 
younger  man  than  either  of  the  contemporary  prophets  Haggai  and 
Malaehi.  He  was  born  in  exile  and  came  out  with  the  first  band 
under  Ezra.  He  seems  to  have  been  associated  intimately  with 
Haggai,  and  the  prophecies  of  this  book  were  spoken  about  the  same 
time,  or  a  little  later,  than  the  stirring  words  uttered  by  Haggai, 
considered  in  our  last  study.  He  was  (like  his  colleague)  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  building  of  the  Temple ;  but  his  prophecies  took  a 
much  wider  range  than  did  those  of  Haggai.  While  Haggai  was 
stirring  up  the  governor,  the  high-priest,  and  the  people  to  go  on 
with  the  work  of  building  the  Temple,  Zechariah  was  projecting  their 
thoughts  far  into  the  future,  teaching  them  great  spiritual  lessons, 
and  encouraging  them  with  the  assurances  of  God's  unchangeable 
purpose  of  grace.     In  the  first  six  chapters  he  delivers  himself  of  no 


28  JOSHUA   THE  HIGH-PEIEST. 

less  than  eight  prophetic  visions,  all  bearing  on  the  past,  present,  and 
future  state  of  Israel.  Perhaps  it  will  be  well  to  give  a  digest  of 
these  visions  as  expounded  by  Dr.  Talbot  W.  Chambers  of  New  York. 

(i)  The  Man  among  the  Myrtles ;  or,  Successful  Intercession  for 
the  Covenant  People,     (i,  7-17.) 

(ii)  The  Four  Horns  and  the  Four  Carpenters ;  or,  An  Adequate 
Defender  against  every  Assailant,     (i,  18-21.) 

(iii)  The  Man  with  the  Measuring  Line ;  or,  The  Enlargement 
and  Security  of  the  People  of  God.     (ii.) 

(iv)  Joshua  the  High-priest  before  the  Angel  of  Jehovah ;  or, 
The  Forgiveness  of  Sin  and  the  Coming  of  "the  Branch."     (iii.) 

(v)  The  Candlestick  with  the  Two  Olive  Trees ;  or,  The  Positive 
Communication  of  God's  Spirit  and  Grace,     (iv.) 

(vi)  The  Flying  Roll ;  or.  The  Destroying  Curse  upon  all  Sinners. 
(V,  1-4.) 

(vii)  The  Woman  in  the  Ephah ;  or,  The  Permanent  Exile  of  the 
Wicked,     (v,  5-11.) 

(viii)  The  Four  Chariots ;  or,  Jehovah's  Judgments  upon  the 
Heathen,     (vi,  1-8.) 

The  date  of  these  prophecies  (or  series  of  prophetic  visions)  is 
the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Darius,  B.C.  515. 

The  vision  which  is  the  subject  of  our  present  study  is  the  fourth 
in  this  series,  and  is  singularly  beautiful  and  suggestive  in  its  graphic 
imagery.  These  images  are  not  the  fruit  of  the  poetic  imagination 
of  the  prophet,  but  came  to  him  and  his  fellow-workers  by  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Almighty,  (i,  1.)  All  Israel's  woes  and  misfortimes 
had  been  brought  upon  them  on  account  of  sin.  Unless  this  curse 
could  be  removed  from  them,  further  and  greater  calamities  would 
be  their  portion.  Therefore  (that  they  might  enter  into  the  glad 
hope  of  the  future  glory  which  is  foreshadowed  in  the  third  vision), 
here  is  one  in  which  they  are  made  to  see  how  God  himself  will  put 
away  their  sin  and  raise  them  up  a  Saviour  who  shall  bo  able  alike 
to  save  and  preserve  them. 

I.— THE  FORGIVENESS  OF   SIN. 

The  account  which  Zechariah  gives  of  his  vision  is  a  very  con- 
densed one  ;  but  its  graphic  power  is  so  great  that  nothing  is  lost  by 
the  absence  of  details.  With  a  few  bold  strokes  of  his  pencil  he  sets 
the  whole  scene  before  us. 

1.  "The  Angel  of  the  Lord."— This  being  whom  the  prophet 
eaW;  and  denominates  "  the  Angel  of  the  Lord,"  is  not  given  a  name ; 


THE  FORGIVENESS   OF   SIN.  29 

but  that  he  is  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  who  appeared  so  often  in 
the  early  history  of  Israel  there  is  no  doubt.  The  second  verse  at 
once  identifies  him  with  Jehovah  himself.  He  is  represented  as 
speaking  directly  in  God's  name,  as  though  Jehovah  himself  were 
the  speaker.  (Gen.  xviii,  1,  3,  14,  17.)  The  language  which  he  uses 
toward  Satan  is  so  identical  with  that  which  Michael  on  a  former  oc- 
casion used  toward  him  ( Jude  9),  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  identify  him 
with  the  latter.  If  Michael  is  none  other  than  Jesus  himself  (which 
I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think),  then  this  vision  of  him  with  Joshua 
standing  before  him,  and  what  follows,  is  a  very  precious  picture  to 
us  all ;  for  all  judgment  is  committed  into  his  hands  (John  v,  22), 
and  what  he  did  for  Joshua  he  is  ready  to  do  for  all  who  come  to 
"  stand  before  him  "  as  Joshua  did. 

2.  ''Joshua  the  high-priest." — This  is  the  same  Joshua  of 
whom  we  have  already  spoken.  (Ezra  ii,  2 ;  iv,  3 ;  Haggai  ii,  2.) 
He  was  the  high-priest  of  these  Jews  who  had  returned  from  Baby- 
lon to  their  own  land  under  the  decree  of  Cyrus.  As  such  he  repre- 
sented them  in  their  relation  to  God.  His  coming  and  standing  be- 
fore the  Angel  of  the  Lord  represented  the  nation  as  standing  there. 
Standing  before  Jehovah  designated  his  position  in  service,  in  which 
he  represented  and  personated  the  entire  people  over  whom  he  was 
set  as  high-priest.  (Deut.  x,  8 ;  II.  Chron.  xxix,  11 ;  Judges  xx,  28 ; 
Ezra  X,  5.)  In  him,  therefore,  we  may  see  the  entire  people;  and 
what  was  said  and  done  to  Joshua  was  said  and  done  as  to  them. 

3.  "  Satan,  standing  by." — Here  we  have  another  of  those 
vivid  glimpses  of  this  enemy  of  God  and  accuser  of  men.  He  is  the 
same  who  overthrew  man  in  the  garden  (Gen.  iii,  1) ;  who  accused 
and  opposed  himself  to  Job  (Job  i,  8) ;  who  confronted  our  Lord 
himself  in  the  desert  (Matt,  iv,  1) ;  who  pursued  our  Lord  all  through 
his  ministry,  even  to  the  last  hours  of  agony  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane  and  on  Calvary ;  who  entered  into  Judas,  and  who  sought 
to  possess  himself  of  Peter,  and  who  always  is  depicted  as  the  de- 
ceiver and  enemy  of  God's  people.  (I.  Pet.  v,  8,  9 ;  Rev.  xii,  9,  10.) 
The  fact  that  Satan  was  seen  standing  by  would  indicate  that  he 
was  present  there  as  the  accuser  of  Joshua,  no  doubt  pointing  to  the 
filthy  garments  which  were  upon  him  as  the  reason  why  he  should 
not  be  permitted  to  have  favor  with  God.  No  doubt  the  accusations 
of  Satan  against  the  people  of  God  are  based  on  our  sins.  For  his 
sin  and  rebellion  he  was  cast  out,  and  he  insists  that  sinners  of  the 
human  race  shall  have  no  more  mercy  than  he  had.  (II.  Pet.  ii,  4.) 
We  have  had  occasion  in  other  studies  to  warn  our  readers  against 
the  tendency  in  modern  days  to  make  light  of  the  xiersonality  of 


30  JOSHUA  THE  HIGH-PRIEST. 

Satan  and  oven  to  deny  the  existence  of  any  such  malignant  and 
mighty  spirit  in  the  world.  The  Scriptures  are  very  full  of  testimony 
concerning  him,  and  of  most  urgent  warnings  against  his  "  wiles " 
and  ^'devices."  Paul  is  particular  in  his  mention  of  him.  (Eph.  ii, 
2 ;  vi,  12, 16. )  The  following  passages  besides  those  already  referred 
to  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  following  up  the  study  of  the  Script- 
ure with  regard  to  this  enemy :  In  Eden,  Gen.  iii,  1-15.  As  God 
of  this  world,  II.  Cor.  iv,  4;  John  xiv,  30;  Matt,  xiii,  38,  39; 
I.  Chron.  xxi,  1 ;  Job  i,  6,  7 ;  ii,  1,  2 ;  Eev.  xx,  10.  The  limitation 
of  his  power,  Job  ii,  6 ;  I.  Cor.  v,  5 ;  Matt,  iv,  3,  5,  8,  9.  His  final 
overthrow,  II.  Tim.  ii,  25,  26 ;  I.  John  ii,  8 ;  Heb.  ii,  14 ;  Rev.  xx,  2, 
7,  9,  10. 

4.  "  Satan  rebuked." — Standing  thus  at  the  right  hand  of 
Joshua,  ''to  resist  him"  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  to  accuse 
him,  the  Lord  speaks,  ''The  Lord  rebuke  thee,  O  Satan."  At  the 
beginning,  after  man  had  first  sinned,  the  Lord  called  Satan  forth, 
rebuked  him,  pronounced  a  curse  upon  him,  definitely  took  the 
man's  part  against  him,  and  prophesied  the  final  overthrow  of  Satan 
by  the  "seed  of  the  woman."  (Gen.  iii,  15.)  So  now  the  Lord  re- 
bukes Satan  again.  The  details  of  this  rebuke  are  not  given,  and 
perhaps  there  was  no  more  than  only  this  word.  But  it  must  have 
implied  rebuke  for  his  bitter  enmity  to  man  ;  for  his  daring  presump- 
tion in  accusing  and  resisting  the  salvation  of  the  man  whom  he  had 
himself  tempted  to  sin ;  and  for  supposing  that  he  could  alter  the 
purpose  of  God's  grace  toward  sinners.  The  terms  in  which  the  re- 
buke was  couched  go  to  point  out  the  defeat  of  Satan  in  his  attempts 
thus  to  resist  the  high-priest.  Never  because  the  man  is  innocent 
of  sin,  but  because  God  is  gracious.  Against  man  Satan  may  pre- 
vail, but  against  the  purpose  of  God  in  grace  toward  guilty  man  he 
cannot  prevail.  "The  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem  rebuke 
thee."  Here  indeed  is  the  hope  of  sinners.  It  is  not  for  our 
righteousness  that  we  may  stand  before  God;  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  we  cast  off  because  we  are  sinners.  It  is  God's  gracious 
purpose  and  his  free  choice  of  us  (though  sinners)  in  Christ  that 
affords  us  hope,  and  that  enables  us  to  stand  against  Satan  himself, 
as  well  as  against  our  own  sense  of  sin  and  consciousness  of  guilt. 
(Titus  iii,  3-7.)  It  is  true  that  for  their  sins  Israel  had  been  cast, 
as  it  were,  into  the  glowing  furnace  of  affliction  and  sent  into  exile 
in  Babylon ;  but  God  had  "not  forgotten  to  be  gracious."  If  Satan 
supposed  that  because  God  had  dealt  with  them  in  wrath  in  that 
matter  he  had  therefore  changed  his  purpose  of  grace,  he  was  mis- 
taken.    The  very   circumstances   that  might  2iavo   seemed  to  be 


THE  FORGIVENESS   OF   SIN.  31 

against  them  are  now  changed  into  an  argument  for  them.  "  Is  not 
this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?  "  As  though  Jehovah  had  said 
to  Satan,  "  It  is  true  that  my  people  "  (represented  by  Joshua)  "  are, 
as  it  were,  like  a  stick  burnt  with  fire,  but  they  are  as  a  brand  which 
I  have  plucked  out  with  my  own  hand.  Do  you  suppose  I  have  thus 
snatched  them  out  of  that  furnace  only  to  cast  them  back  into  the 
fire  ?  "  The  fact  that  God  had  rescued  this  remnant  from  Babylon 
was  full  proof  that  he  intended  further  grace  for  them.  Some  na- 
tions who  had  been  deported  bodily  from  other  lands  were  wont  to 
mix  with  their  captors  and  perish  in  that  way  as  a  distinct  people  ; 
but  God  had  preserved  his  people  through  all  these  bitter  years,  and 
now  had  brought  them  back  to  Judea,  and  he  would  not  again  cast 
them  off. 

5.  "The  filthy  garments  removed." — In  the  vision  the  high- 
priest  is  seen  clothed  in  filthy  garments.  These  of  course  repre- 
sented the  sinful  condition,  not  only  of  Joshua  himself,  but  of  the 
whole  nation  of  which  he  was  the  spiritual  and  priestly  head.  The 
figure  is  a  familiar  one,  and  the  interpretation  is  not  difficult. 
Speaking  of  Israel  and  her  sin,  Isaiah  says  (Ixiv,  6) :  "  But  we  are  all 
as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags ; 
and  we  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf ;  and  our  iniquities,  like  the  wind,  have 
taken  us  away."  This  thought  is  expressed  by  Paul  when  he 
describes  his  own  salvation  through  Christ.  (Phil,  iii,  8,  9.)  We 
are  also  reminded  of  the  parable  of  the  wedding-garment  spoken  of 
by  our  Lord,  which  suggests  the  same  idea.  (Matt,  xxii,  11.)  Could 
we  but  see  ourselves  as  God  sees  us,  this  would  be  our  condition, 
even  at  our  best  estate.  "Clad  in  filthy  garments."  It  was  the  sal- 
vation of  Joshua  that  he  did  not  flee  away  at  the  accusations  of 
Satan,  but  that  he  stood  there  before  the  ''Angel  of  the  Lord."  Just 
as  it  was  the  salvation  of  the  woman  (John  viii,  9)  that  she  did  not 
flee  away  after  our  Lord  had  rebuked  and  sent  off  her  accusers,  but 
waited  to  know  what  he  would  say  and  do  to  her.  So  Joshua  stood 
his  ground,  all  clad  in  filthy  garments  as  he  was.  Did  we  but  know 
the  heart  of  our  Saviour  better,  we  should  the  more  readily  come 
into  his  presence,  even  with  our  sins,  because  it  is  only  by  coming 
thus  confessedly  vile  that  we  may  hope  for  forgiveness.  "God  be 
merciful  to  me,  the  sinner"  is  our  best  plea  always.  Having  re- 
buked Satan  and  declared  his  grace  toward  Jerusalem  as  his  chosen 
people,  and  that  he  would  not  again  fling  into  the  fire  the  brand  that 
he  had  but  just  plucked  out,  the  Angel  spake  to  those  who  were  also 
standing  before  him  (probably  the  accompanying  angelic  host),  and 
commanded:  "Take  away  the  filthy  garments  from  him."     (Zech. 


32  JOSHUA  THE   HIGH-PRIEST. 

iii,  4. )  The  taking  away  of  these  filthy  garments  was  not  the  con- 
dition of  the  forgiveness  spoken  a  moment  after,  because  it  had  al- 
ready gone  forth  out  of  God's  heart.  "Behold,  I  have  caused  thine 
iniquity  to  pass  from  thee,  and  I  will  clothe  thee  with  a  change  of 
raiment."  We  are  irresistibly  reminded  of  the  scene  in  the  parable 
of  the  Prodigal  Son,  where  the  father  runs  to  embrace  and  forgive 
his  son  in  all  his  filthy  rags  and  tatters  and  causes  them  to  be  re- 
placed by  the  best  robe.  Thus  did  God  assure  his  people  that  their 
sins  and  iniquities  were  forgiven,  and  that  he  himself  would  be 
"their  righteousness."     (Is.  Ixi,  10;  Jer.  xxiii,  6.) 

6.  The  fair  miter  and  the  garments. — God  not  only  forgives 
our  sins  and  takes  away  the  filthiness  of  the  past  life,  but  he  also 
further  adorns  us,  placing  "  a  fair  miter  upon  our  heads,"  and  clothes 
us  "with  salvation  as  with  a  garment."  This  reclothing  of  Joshua 
and  the  adornment  with  the  miter  points  out  to  us  the  progressive 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  achieving  our  salvation.  First  we  have 
forgiveness,  then  justification,  and  after  that  sanctification,  by  which 
we  are  adorned  and  made  increasingly  like  Christ  in  holiness  in- 
wrought.    (Rom.  vi,  22;  viii,  10,  11.) 

7.  Exhortation  and  promise. — Having  reclothed  Joshua,  the 
Angel  gives  him  a  solemn  charge,  in  which  there  is  contained  a 
great  promise  and  a  stated  condition.  "If  thou  wilt  walk  in  my 
ways  and  keep  my  charge."  (iii,  7.)  These  words  refer  alike  to 
personal  walk  and  to  public  service.  All  God's  people  have  both 
these  matters  to  attend  to.  Our  personal  life  must  be  ordered  ac- 
cording to  the  way  of  the  Lord  (Titus  iii,  8),  but  it  is  not  all  the 
Christian  life  to  maintain  a  blameless  walk.  God  has  his  work  to  do 
in  this  world,  and  there  are  none  to  do  it  but  those  whom  he  has 
forgiven,  justified,  and  called  to  be  his  saints.  (I.  Cor.  iii,  9 ;  II. 
Cor.  vi,  1.)  If  we  thus  are  faithful  in  walk  and  work,  God  will  give 
us  charge  over  his  house  and  make  us  the  keepers  of  his  courts — 
that  is,  he  will  honor  us  in  his  service  and  cause  the  work  of  our 
hands  to  prosper.  I  can  think  of  nothing  more  desirable  than  to  be 
taken  into  partnership  with  the  Lord  in  the  great  work  of  saving 
men,  and  to  be  honored  with  distinguished  service.  Besides  this,  "  I 
will  give  thee  places  to  walk  among  these  that  stand  by."  Those  who 
were  standing  by  (see  also  v.  4)  were  some  glorious  beings  who  had 
evidently  accompanied  the  Angel;  they  are  the  "heavenly  hosts." 
(Rev.  xxii,  9.)  Paithfalness  in  service  will  be  rewarded  with  free- 
dom of  intercourse  and  communion,  even  comj^anionship  with  the 
most  glorious  beings  in  the  heaven  of  God.  "An  inheritance  among 
the  saints  in  light "  is  worth  striving  for.     Not  that  we  win  heaven 


ISRAEL'S   GOLDEN  AGE.  33 

by  merit  in  any  sense,  but,  as  being  forgiven  and  justified,  our  place 
among  the  sanctified  will  be  determined  by  the  measure  and  faith- 
fulness of  our  obedience  and  ser\4ce. 

8.  A  glorious  announcement. — Ha\dng  finished  his  words  of 
grace  to  Joshua  in^espect  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  privi- 
lege and  reward  of  service,  by  which  all  Israel  was  to  be  encouraged 
to  persevere  in  the  way  of  spirituality  and  devotion,  the  Angel  makes 
a  glorious  announcement.  The  address  was  to  Joshua  and  his  fel- 
low-priests, whom  the  angel  designates  as  '^men  to  be  wondered  at." 
And  indeed  this  is  true  of  the  people  of  God  always.  They  are  a 
wonder  to  themselves,  that  they  should  be  forgiven  and  clothed  in 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  and  be  called  the  sons  of  God  and  made 
so.  (I.  John  iii,  1,  2.)  They  are  wondered  at  by  men  of  the  world, 
that  they  should  willingly  turn  their  backs  on  the  world  and  live  for 
Christ  and  exhibit  such  marvelous  changes  in  life  and  character.  Li 
the  world  of  glory  they  will  be  objects  of  wonder  and  praise  as  they 
stand  arrayed  in  white  before  the  Lamb.  The  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
have  always  been  a  wonder  and  even  a  puzzle  to  the  world.  Now  the 
Angel  makes  an  announcement  not  altogether  new,  but  one  which 
confirms  all  the  declarations  of  the  older  prophets.  ''  For,  behold,  I 
will  bring  forth  my  servant  the  BRANCH."  (Of  this  glorious  being 
we  have  already  written,  "Bible  Studies"  for  1892,  pp.  1-8,  33-42.) 
It  is  sufficient  for  us,  therefore,  to  say  here  that  this  is  the  promise  of 
the  coming  of  Christ,  in  whom  all  the  vision  was  to  be  fulfilled,  who 
would  be  not  only  a  Saviour  to  put  away  their  sins,  but  a  great 
overshadowing  and  sheltering  tree.  (Is.  xi,  1 ;  liii,  2  ;  Jer.  xxiii,  5  ; 
xxxiii,  15.)  Amid  their  present  troubles  and  the  many  fears  arising 
out  of  their  own  consciousness  of  sin  and  weakness,  they  were  to 
look  forward  and  grasp  the  promise  and  grace  of  God  in  this  glorious 
servant  of  God,  the  BRANCH. 

II.— ISRAEL'S    GOLDEN  AGE. 

Other  nations  look  backward  upon  past  and  fading  glories,  but 
Israel  is  to  look  forward  for  her  golden  age.  Some  of  the  old  men 
were  disposed  to  weep  when  they  remembered  the  glory  of  Solomon's 
Temple ;  but  the  prophet  of  the  Lord  is  now  pointing  out  to  them 
that  there  is  in  the  future  yet  greater  glory  and  much  higher  bless- 
ing in  store  for  them. 

1.  The  stone  laidlDefore  Joshua.— This  stone  was  not  symbol- 
ical of  the  Messiah  of  whom  the  Angel  had  just  spoken,  but  of  the 
nation  now  represented  by  Joshua.    Poor,  mean,  and  east  down  into 


31  JOSHUA   THE   HIGH-PRIEST. 

the  very  mud  and  soil  of  present  cireumstanee  and  misfortune,  it 
seemed  to  be.  But  upon  this  one  stone  (one  people  among  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth)  there  shall  be  ''seven  eyes/'  denoting  the  con- 
stant and  watchful  care  of  God  during  all  the  time  that  should  inter- 
vene between  that  day  and  their  coming  glory.  Moreover,  this  stone 
so  rude  and  unsightly  shall  be  engraved  by  God  himself.  He  will 
fashion  and  adorn  it  and  make  it  beautiful.  There  will  be  dark  days, 
days  in  which  it  will  seem  that  God  has  lost  sight  of  his  people ; 
there  will  be  times  when  it  will  appear  that  God  has  even  forgotten 
Israel ;  but  there  will  come  a  time  when  "  in  one  day  "  the  iniquity 
will  be  removed  from  that  land,  and  from  that  people.  That  will  be 
the  day  when  at  the  Lord's  second  coming  the  Jews  shall  see  and 
confess  him.  Then  shall  a  nation  be  converted  in  a  day ;  then  shall 
the  ancient  people  be  restored  to  their  land  and  "receive  in  it  the 
double  for  all  her  sins."     (Is.  xl,  2;  Ixi,  7;  Zech.  ix,  9.) 

2.  The  blessings  of  that  day. — The  figure  of  resting  under  the 
fig  tree  sets  forth  the  blessings  of  Israel  under  the  reign  of  Messiah, 
(i)  Safety.  When  there  is  perfect  peace  and  security  in  the  land, 
then  men  sit  under  their  vines  and  fig  trees,  (ii)  Enjoyment.  The 
very  thought  of  it  suggests  delight,  (iii)  Freedom.  Only  free  men 
and  proprietors  sit  under  their  vines  and  fig  trees.  Neither  slaves 
nor  strangers  do  this,  (iv)  Benevolence  and  fellowship.  For  in 
that  day  the  man  sitting  under  vine  and  fig  tree  will  wish  to  share 
his  good  things  with  his  neighbors,  and  enjoy  their  fellowship  in  all 
the  blessing  of  God's  goodness  and  grace. 


V. 

THE   SPIRIT   OF  THE    LORD.— Zechariah    iv,    i-io. 

(1)  And  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  came  again,  and  waked  me,  as  a 
man  that  is  wakened  out  of  his  sleep,  (3)  And  said  unto  me,  What  seest 
thou?  And  I  said,  1  have  looked,  and  behold  a  candlestick  all  of  gold,  with 
a  bowl  upon  the  top  of  it,  and  his  seven  lamps  thereon,  and  seven  pipes  to 
the  seven  lamps,  which  are  upon  the  top  thereof :  (3)  And  two  olive  trees 
by  it,  one  upon  the  right  side  of  the  bowl,  and  the  other  upon  the  left  side 
thereof.  (4)  So  I  answered  and  spake  to  the  angel  that  talked  with  me,  say- 
ing. What  are  these,  my  lord?  (5)  Then  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  an- 
swered and  said  unto  me,  Knowest  thou  not  what  these  be?  And  I  said, 
No,  my  lord.  (6)  Then  he  answered  and  spake  unto  me,  saying.  This  is  the 
word  of  the  Lord  unto  Zerubbabel,  saying.  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but 
by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  (7)  Who  art  thou,  O  great  mountain? 
before  Zerubbabel  thou  shalt  become  a  plain :  and  he  shall  bring  forth  the 
headstone  thereof  with  shoutings,  crying,  Grace,  grace  unto  it.  (8)  More- 
over the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  (9)  The  hands  of  Zerub- 
babel have  laid  the  foundation  of  this  house ;  his  hands  shall  also  finish  it ; 
and  thou  shalt  know  that  the  Lord  of  hosts  hath  sent  me  unto  you.  (10) 
For  who  hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things?  for  they  shall  re.ioice,  and 
shall  see  the  plummet  in  the  hand  of  Zerubbabel  with  those  seven ;  they  are 
the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  which  run  to  and  fro  through  the  whole  earth.— Zech- 
ariah iv,  1-10. 

This  fifth  vision  of  Zechariah  contains  one  or  two  Scripture  pas- 
sages which,  through  the  ages,  have  become  most  familiar  to  the 
Church.  The  vision  is  that  of  a  candelabrum  and  the  two  olive 
trees  standing  by,  one  on  either  side,  the  meaning  of  which  is,  in 
brief,  the  position  of  the  people  of  God  in  this  world  and  the  posi- 
tive supplies  of  divine  grace  vouchsafed  to  them.  In  writing  out 
this  vision,  the  prophet  says  that  the  Angel  which  talked  with  him 
came  again,  "  and  waked  me,  as  a  man  that  is  wakened  out  of  his 
sleep."  That  is  to  say,  the  interval  of  normal  consciousness  between 
the  last  vision  and  this  one,  in  which  he  went  about  seeing,  feeling, 
understanding,  and  acting  in  this  world  as  other  men,  was,  as  it 
were,  but  as  sleep  as  compared  with  the  new  consciousness  which 
was  his  during  these  revelations  which  he  was  receiving.  A  sight 
of  the  unseen  things  of  God,  a  glimpse  into  heaven  and  communica- 
tion with  the  heavenly  inhabitants,  must  be  indeed  as  day  is  to 
night,  in  comparison  with  all  that  we  are  conscious  of  in  this  life. 


36  THE   SPIRIT   OF   THE  LORD. 

So  Zechariali  speaks  of  our  ordinary  consciousness  as  sleep,  in  com- 
parison with  that  quickened  state  in  which  a  man  sees  heavenly- 
visions.  In  the  same  way  our  natural  life  is  spoken  of  as  death,  in 
comparison  with  the  life  which  Jesus  came  to  give  to  the  world. 
^' You  hath  he  quickened"  (brought  to  life)  "who  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins."  (Eph.  ii,  1.)  So  Christians  are  called  ''the  chil- 
dren of  the  light  and  of  the  day  "  in  contrast  with  the  children  of 
the  world  or  unconverted  people,  who  are  "of  the  darkness  and  of 
the  night." 

I.— THE   GOLDEN  CANDLESTICK. 

"What  the  prophet  saw  when  he  wakened  out  of  his  sleep  of  natu- 
ral consciousness  into  that  of  prophetic  light  and  life  was,  first,  "  a 
candlestick  all  of  gold."  (v.  2.)  The  description  of  it  is  substan- 
tially that  of  the  golden  candlestick  of  the  first  tabernacle  and  those 
of  Solomon's  Temple,  yet  it  differs  in  one  or  two  essential  particu- 
lars, which  the  student  may  see  by  comparing  the  descriptions  given 
of  the  two.     (Ex.  XXV,  31-37 ;  I.  Kiags  vli,  49.) 

1.  All  of  gold. — ^Let  us  look  first  of  all  at  the  material  of  which 
this  candlestick  was  made.  In  this  respect  it  corresponds  with  that 
described  in  Exodus  and  with  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  seen  by 
John  in  Revelation.  (Rev.  i,  12.)  It  is  universally  conceded  that  the 
candlestick  of  the  Temple  was  symbolical  of  the  people  or  Church  of 
God.  Certainly,  if  we  are  to  be  taught  by  comparing  Scripture  with 
Scripture,  we  are  on  sure  ground  when  we  say  the  candlestick  stands 
for  the  Church  of  God,  for  John  expressly  tells  us  that  Jesus  (who 
appeared  to  him  and  showed  him  these  candlesticks)  said,  "The 
seven  candlesticks  are  the  seven  churches."  (Rev.  i,  20.)  The 
vision  of  Zechariah  was,  then,  of  the  people  and  Church  of  God. 
There  was  a  disposition  to  look  upon  the  Temple  that  was  then  be- 
ing built  with  some  contempt  because  of  its  comparative  insignifi- 
cance in  point  of  grandeur  when  contrasted  with  the  former  Temple. 
We  have  before  remarked  that  in  the  diminished  proportions  and 
the  less  resplendent  glory  of  the  second  Temple,  together  with  the 
absence  of  the  Ark,  the  Shekinah,  and  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  God 
was  preparing  the  people  to  look  away  from  the  shadow  to  the  sub- 
stance. In  fact,  the  shadow  was  shortening  and  gradually  fading 
away.  The  object  of  this  vision  was  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
people  away  from  the  Temple  to  the  people  of  God,  for  whose  sake 
only  the  Temple  had  an  existence.  The  Temple  was  indeed  a  wit- 
ness for  God,  but  only  as  it  was  connected  with  his  people.  The 
Angel  now  wishes  the  people  to  understand  that  they  are  of  more 


THE   GOLDEN   CANDLESTICK.  37 

importance  than  the  Temple,  and  he  sets  them  forth  to  themselves 
under  this  figure  of  the  golden  candlestick.  The  Temple  they  were 
"building  was  poor  in  point  of  gold,  but  the  people  of  God  as  seen  in 
this  vision  were  in  God's  sight  all  of  gold,  most  precious  not  only  in 
his  sight  but  in  fact.  From  this  they  were  to  gather  comfort  and 
dignity.  However  mean  and  poor  this  little  discoui'aged  colony 
might  be  in  their  own  eyes,  or  in  the  eyes  of  their  enemies,  they 
were  in  God's  sight  a  candlestick  of  pure  gold,  and  all  of  gold.  This 
is  true  of  the  Church  of  Christ  under  all  circumstances.  Oftentimes 
very  feeble,  obscure,  and  poor  (usually  so,  indeed)  in  this  world,  she 
is  always  a  magnificent  light-bearer  to  the  world,  of  pure  gold,  and 
of  rarest  workmanship. 

2.  The  structure  of  the  candlestick. — It  was  a  stand  having 
seven  branches,  which,  as  w^e  have  said,  can  but  indicate  the  Church 
of  God.  "  The  seven  lamps  are  the  seven  churches."  The  number 
seven  is  that  number  which  stands  for  completeness,  and  there- 
fore for  the  entire  Church,  the  whole  sum  of  the  people  of  God, 
both  of  old  and  in  the  present  dispensation,  (i)  ''The  bowl  upon 
the  top  of  it."  (iv,  2.)  This  undoubtedly  stands  for  the  Lord  him- 
self, the  head  of  the  Church,  from  whom  the  whole  Church  draws 
its  life  and  light.  In  the  seven  candlesticks  of  Rev.  i,  20,  Jesus  is 
seen  walking  in  the  midst  of  them.  Here  the  same  truth  is  repre- 
sented by  the  golden  ''bowl  upon  the  top  of  it."  It  is  the  same  truth 
that  is  conveyed  to  us  by  our  Lord  in  the  figure  of  the  vine  and  the 
branches.  (John  xv.)  "I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches."  He 
is  the  head  "from  whom  the  whole  body  is  fitly  joined  together, 
and  compacted."  (Eph.  iv,  16.)  The  bowl  was  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  the  oil  which  fed  the  lamjjs  on  the  various  branches. 
This  oil  is  the  symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  teaching  is  very 
plain.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  gift  of  the  Father  through  Jesus, 
the  Son.  In  him  the  Spirit  dwelt  in  all  fullness,  and  was  given  "  to 
him  without  measure,"  for  "in  him  all  fullness  dwelt."  (John  iii, 
34 ;  Col.  i,  19.)  (ii)  "The  seven  lamps  thereon"  are  the  whole  num- 
ber of  the  people  of  God.  The  seven  churches  stand  for  the  whole, 
and  so  each  lamp  may  represent  the  individual  believer  as  well,  for 
the  Church  of  Christ  is  only  the  aggregation  of  all  the  churches,  and 
the  churches  are  only  the  aggregation  of  individual  believers.  What 
is  therefore  true  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  in  its  relation  to  Christ, 
is  true  of  each  believer,  (iii)  "And  the  seven  pipes  to  the  seven 
lamps."  This  seems  to  indicate  that  there  were  seven  feeding  pipes 
leading  from  the  great  central  bowl  on  the  top  to  each  one  of  the 
seven  branches.     A  good  many  guesses  have  been  made  as  to  what 


38  THE   SPIRIT   OF   THE   LORD. 

these  pipes,  attached  one  to  each  of  the  seven  lamps,  might  mean. 
As  they  were  the  conductors  of  oil  from  the  central  bowl,  in  addition 
to  the  main  stem  by  which  the  lamps  were  connected  with  the  bowl, 
we  must  conclude  that  they  were  additional  feeders  to  the  seven 
lamps.  Every  church  and  every  believer  derives  life,  light,  and 
strength  directly  from  union  with  Christ ;  but  it  is  not  sufficient  that 
we  be  in  Christ.  It  has  pleased  God  that  the  divine  life  shall  be 
fed  and  increased  by  means  of  many  ministries :  for  instance,  the 
Word  of  God,  which  is  the  great  sauctifier ;  the  two  ordinances  of 
the  Church,  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  the  five  ministries 
of  the  Church,  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  and  teachers, 
given  for  the  perfecting  of  the  Church  and  the  edification  of  the 
saints.  (Eph.  iv,  11,  12;  I.  Cor.  xii,  28.)  Thus  it  is  that  the 
Church  lives  by  reason  of  her  union  with  Christ,  and  her  life  is  fur- 
ther sustained  by  seven  ministries,  that  is,  by  a  complete  ministry 
which  God  has  provided  for  us. 

3.  The  function  of  the  candlestick. — We  have  seen  how  the 
Church  is  of  piu-e  gold  in  character,  and  how  it  is  allied  to  and  made 
dependent  upon  Christ.  It  only  remains  for  us  now  to  consider 
the  purpose  for  which  this  glorious  candlestick  is  set  in  this  world. 
Obviously  the  business  of  a  candlestick  or  lampstand  is  to  give  out 
light  in  the  midst  of  darkness.  In  the  first  place,  Christ  is  the  great 
light-giver.  Speaking  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  people,  the 
Prophet  Isaiah  says  :  '^Darkness  shall  cover  the  earth  and  gross  dark- 
ness the  people."  (Ix,  2, )  Of  the  condition  of  the  heathen  world,  Paul 
says,  '^  Their  foolish  hearts  were  darkened."  (Rom.  i,  21.)  Of  Jesus, 
the  prophet  says,  "  The  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings 
to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising " ;  "I  will  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the 
Gentiles."  In  fact,  all  prophecy  is  summed  up  concerning  him  as 
the  coming  "  light  of  the  world  "  in  the  declaration  of  Simeon  :  "  For 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast  prepared  before 
the  face  of  all  people ;  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory 
of  thy  people  Israel."  (Luke  ii,  30-32  ;  Is.  xlii,  6  ;  xlix,  6  ;  Ix,  3.)  In- 
troducing him  to  the  world,  John  calls  him  "the  light  of  the  world," 
"the  true  light  that  hghteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world," 
and  Jesus  speaks  of  himself  as  "the  light  of  the  world,"  and  tells  us 
that  "if  any  man  will  follow  him  he  shall  not  walk  in  darkness  but 
shall  have  the  light  of  life."  So  also  the  Church  of  Christ  and  every 
individual  believer,  by  reason  of  union  with  Christ,  and  the  oil  sup- 
plied by  him,  is  the  great  light-bearer  in  the  world  in  the  absence  of 
the  true  Light  himself.  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,"  Jesus  said 
to  his  disciples.     (Matt,  v,  14-16.)     And  he  bids  us  set  our  light  on 


THE   TVv^O   OLIVE   TREES.  39 

a  candlestiek  and  let  it  shine,  that  others  may  "be  shown  the  right 
path.  Again  he  warns  us  not  to  '4et  the  light  in  us  be  darkness," 
for  a  Christian  whose  light  is  not  shining  gives  forth  grosser  dark- 
ness even  than  a  sinner  does.  Paul  tells  us  that  Christians  are  lights 
shining  in  the  world,  "holding  forth  the  word  of  life."  (Phil,  ii,  15, 
16.)  So  closely  is  Christ  associated  with  his  people.  We  are  par- 
takers of  his  nature,  and  partners  with  him  in  his  great  mission  of 
lighting  this  dark  world.  He  pours  out  the  grace  of  his  own  life  into 
our  little  lamps,  feeds  us  constantly  by  the  ministry  of  his  Word, 
and  bids  us  with  and  for  him  "  shine  as  lights  in  the  world."  The 
glory  of  the  Church  is  thus  greater  than  the  glory  of  the  Temple, 
and  this  vision  of  the  higher  calling  of  the  people  of  God  was  meant 
to  compensate  them  for  what  seemed  to  be  their  loss  in  external  and 
earthly  circumstance  and  glory. 

II.— THE   TWO   OLIVE   TREES. 

Standing  beside  and  on  either  side  of  the  golden  candlestick  with 
its  branches  and  pipes  were  two  olive  trees.  These  excited  the 
curiosity  of  the  prophet,  and  he  asked  the  Angel  what  they  were, 
that  is,  what  they  signified.  To  this  question  the  Angel  replied 
by  a  question  expressing  surprise  that  the  prophet  did  not  under- 
stand the  meaning.  "Knowest  thou  not  what  these  be?"  We 
are  reminded  of  the  question  of  Jesus  to  Nicodemus :  ''Art  thou  a 
master  in  Israel  and  knowest  not  these  things?"  (John  iii,  10.)  It 
would  imply  that  the  prophet  ought  to  have  understood  the  symbol 
without  interpretation,  as  he  evidently  saw  the  meaning  of  the 
candlestick.  The  prophet,  however,  frankly  replied,  "No,  my  Lord." 
Even  if  we  should  know  and  do  not,  it  is  better  to  confess  our  igno- 
rance than  to  pretend  to  knowledge.  A  vain  ignorance  bars  the  way 
to  knowledge,  but  a  humble  ignorance  is  sure  to  be  taught  if  in- 
struction is  sought.  The  Angel  does  not  answer  by  a  direct  exposi- 
tion, but  by  an  implied  one  setting  forth  the  truth  that  lay  at  the 
heart  of  the  symbol.  However,  further  on  in  the  chapter  (twelfth 
to  fourteenth  verses)  there  is  a  direct  exposition  of  the  two  olive 
trees.  "  These  are  the  two  anointed  ones  "  (or  "  sons  of  oil ")  "  that 
stand  by  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth."  There  is  little  doubt  that 
the  primary  reference  is  to  Zerubbabel  the  prince  and  Joshua  the 
high-priest,  into  whose  hands  the  works  of  rebuilding  the  Temple 
and  re-establishing  the  people  of  God  in  the  land  were  intrusted.  It 
must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  these  two  men  were  in  them- 
selves the  sources  of  oil  for  the  candlestick,  but  in  their  offices  as 


40  THE   SPIRIT   OF   THE   LORD. 

prince  and  priest  tliey  stand  for  the  kingly  and  priestly  characters 
of  Christ,  through  which  offices  God  has  ministered  life  and  grace  to 
his  people  in  all  ages.  The  two  olive  trees,  then,  come  to  signify 
Christ  himself  standing  on  either  side  of  his  Church,  the  living  source 
of  life  and  of  grace,  ministering  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  of 
God,  in  this  sense  being  the  great  Servant  of  the  Father,  and  doing 
his  will  toward  the  people  whom  he  will  save.  (Heb.  x,  7-14 ;  Is. 
liii,  10-11.)  This  vision  has  in  it  great  encouragement  for  believers. 
The  lamps  of  the  candlestick  are  supplied  from  living  trees,  that  is, 
from  the  living  and  perpetual  sacrifice  of  Christ,  who,  '' having 
offered  himself  to  God  for  our  sins,  is  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  power  "  invested  with  all  grace  and  might  alike  for  our  protection 
and  defense.  The  believer  looks  forever  to  Christ  as  the  ground  of 
his  justification,  through  sacrifice,  and  ever  to  him  also  as  the  Power 
of  God  for  the  maintenance  of  spiritual  life  and  the  certainty  of  vic- 
tory over  all  enemies  and  opposing  powers. 

III.— THE  POWER  OF  THE   SPIRIT. 

Before  giving  a  detailed  or  categorical  answer  to  the  prophet 
concerning  the  two  trees,  the  Angel  abruptly  announces  to  him  the 
lesson  which  he  desires  him  to  communicate  to  Zerubbabel. 

1.  The  source  of  all  power. — '^Not  by  might,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  The  undertaking  in  which  these 
two  men,  and  especially  Zerubbabel  (as  the  prince  of  the  people), 
were  engaged  was  a  herculean  one.  They  were  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies ;  they  were  a  comparatively  small  band  of  colonists  ;  they  were 
poor ;  they  had  no  real  political  power,  and  no  armies  to  give  de- 
fense, security,  or  protection  while  at  their  work.  God  would  re- 
mind Zerubbabel  therefore,  in  the  first  place  that  he  was  not  to  look 
to  human  resources  alone,  or  to  mere  might  of  human  strength  for 
the  doing  of  his  work ;  and  on  the  other  hand  he  must  not  be  discour- 
aged because  of  the  apparent  inadequacy  of  his  strength  and  re- 
sources. God's  promises  are  not  accomplished  "by  might  or  by 
power  "  (that  is,  human  might  and  power),  but  by  a  divine  and  super- 
natural interposition,  "by  my  Spirit."  Looking  backward  over  the 
past  history  of  God's  people  and  their  achievements,  we  see  these 
two  truths  abundantly  illustrated.  The  children  of  Israel  were 
raised  to  power  and  great  glory  as  a  nation,  not  by  their  own  might 
and  power,  but  by  the  constant  interposition  of  God's  supernatural 
help.  He  brought  them  up  out  of  Egypt  ''by  a  high  hand,"  in  the 
face  of  all  the  splendid  armies  of  Pharaoh ;  he  gave  them  possession 


THE   POWER   OF   THE   SPIRIT.  41 

of  the  land  which  he  had  promised  them  by  an  invisible  power  which 
made  the  walls  of  Jericho  to  fall  down,  and,  in  spite  of  their  armies, 
when  they  went  up  against  Ai  without  God's  permission  they  were 
driven  back  and  defeated.  So  it  was  throughout  all  their  history : 
when  God  was  with  them  there  was  no  power  of  earth  that  could 
withstand  or  overthrow  them;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  when 
through  sin  they  had  forfeited  the  presence  of  God's  Spirit  and 
power,  all  the  armies  they  could  muster  were  insiifl&cieut  to  save 
them.  Again,  in  the  case  before  us :  it  was  not  ''  by  might  or  by 
power  "  that  their  exile  had  come  to  an  end,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
who  had  moved  the  heart  of  Cyrus  to  publish  his  decree  setting 
them  free  from  bondage  in  Babylon.  In  the  New  Testament  times 
we  have  the  same  lesson  taught  us.  Our  Lord  would  not  suffer  his 
disciples  to  go  forth  to  the  conquest  of  western  Asia  and  Europe  by 
their  own  might  and  power.  He  shut  them  up  in  Jerusalem  for  ten 
days,  until  they  were  "endued  with  power  from  on  high,"  which  came 
upon  them  by  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  heaven.  Paul  ex- 
plains the  success  of  his  preaching  when  he  says  his  gospel  came  not 
in  word  only  but  also  "  in  power  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  (I.  Thess. 
i,  5.)  He  gives  expression  to  the  like  truth  in  other  places.  The 
Gospel  which  to  the  world  seems  as  foolishness  is  ^'to  them  that  be- 
lieve "  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.  His  preaching  was 
not  with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  of  power.  "For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word 
but  in  power."  (Rom.  i,  IG ;  I.  Cor.  i,  18;  ii,  4;  iv,  20.)  On  the 
other  hand,  he  utterly  disclaims  any  thought  of  that  power  residing 
inherently  in  himself ;  for  he  says  frankly  :  "  Not  that  we  are  suffi- 
cient of  ourselves  to  think  anything  as  of  ourselves ;  but  our  suffi- 
ciency is  of  God."  (II.  Cor.  iii,  5.)  It  is  the  same  profound  truth 
which  is  taught  positively  by  Jesus  Christ  when  he  tells  his  disciples 
that  without  him  they  could  do  nothing  (John,  xv,  5),  and  to  which 
Paul  responds  by  saying,  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me."  (Phil,  iv,  13.)  Let  us  all  learn  this  lesson  with 
respect  to  the  work  of  God :  Our  own  insufficiency,  but  God's  all- 
sufficiency  in  all  things.  We  must  neither  be  overconfident  because 
of  our  own  resources  or  strength,  nor  discouraged  for  the  want  of 
apparent  strength  and  means ;  but  confidently  expect  that  God's 
"strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."     (II.  Cor.  xii,  9.) 

2.  Zerubbabel  and  the  mountain. — In  illustration  of  this  truth 
the  Angel  speaks  to  an  imaginary  mountain  (or  possibly  to  one  seen 
In  the  vision),  before  whom  Zerubbabel  was  standing,  as  if  impeded 
by  its  towering  height  and  solid  and  immovable  strength.     ''"Who 


42  THE   SPIRIT   OF   THE   LORD. 

art  thou,  O  great  mountain?  before  Zerubbabel  thou  shalt  become  a 
plain."  The  difficulties  before  the  Prince  of  Judah  and  his  brethren 
were  like  a  great  mountain  which  defied  them ;  but  God  says  to  that 
mountain,  that  before  his  servant  (strengthened  as  he  would  be  by 
his  Spirit)  it  should  be  leveled  to  a  plain.  Thus  shall  difficulties  and 
obstacles  vanish  away  before  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Thus 
have  they  ever  done  before  the  people  of  God.  "  Who  will  roll  us 
away  the  stone  ?  "  said  the  women  as  they  went  their  way  to  the 
sepulcher  of  Jesus.  The  answer  was  seen  when  they  drew  near,  for 
God's  angel  had  taken  it  away.  No  human  pow*r  was  available  for 
this,  but  Heaven's  resources  are  not  confined  to  human  means.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  in  a  wonderful  way  difficulties  have  ever  been  re- 
moved. Their  enemies  were  now  silenced  and  beaten,  and  Darius 
was  moved  to  ratify  all  that  Cyrus  had  ordered,  and  himself  be- 
came eventually  their  friend.  Zerubbabel  had  not  only  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  new  Temple,  but  now  he  is  assured  that  by  his 
hands  the  building  should  be  completed,  even  to  the  setting  up  of 
the  corner-stone,  and  that  it  should  be  dedicated  with  shouts  of  joy, 
and  all  the  world  would  ascribe  the  finished  work  to  the  gi*ace  of 
God,  crying,  "  Grace,  grace  unto  it."  In  the  finishing  of  "  the  house  " 
they  should  have  proof  of  the  truth  that  the  prophet's  vision  was  of 
God.  It  is  in  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy  that  we  have  to-day  the 
strongest  proofs  of  the  truth  of  God's  Word. 

3.  The  day  of  small  things. — There  were  those,  even  among 
the  returned  exiles,  who  were  disposed  to  hold  in  contempt  the 
feebleness  of  their  present  condition,  and  from  their  own  weakness 
to  argue  unfavorably  for  the  future.  Their  enemies  were  mocking 
and  taunting  them  with  the  hopelessness  of  their  task.  It  was  em- 
phatically "Sj  day  of  small  things."  The  angel  puts  this  to  them  by 
way  of  rebuke,  and  then  assures  them  that  they  shall  yet  see  Zerub- 
babel triumphant,  in  spite  of  the  appearances  then  against  him. 
With  plummet  in  hand  they  should  see  him  measuring  the  completed 
Temple  from  cap-stone  down  to  the  foundations,  in  the  midst  of  the 
acclamations  of  the  people.  The  '^ seven  eyes"  of  the  Lord  were 
watching  over  the  work,  and  "running  to  and  fro  through  the  earth," 
having  all  things  under  his  own  direction.  God's  spiritual  work  has 
always  begun  by  a  day  of  small  things.  Abraham,  a  solitary  man 
going  out  from  his  home  ''into  a  country  he  knew  not  of,"  Moses 
going  alone  down  into  Egypt,  David  with  his  sling  and  little  stone, 
and  these  feeble  Jews  in  the  midst  of  hostile  peoples,  and  with  un- 
believers and  even  traitors  in  their  own  camp ;  later  on,  Jesus, 
first  as  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  and  then  the  despised  and  rejected 


THE   POWER   OF   THE    SPIRIT.  43 

Son  of  man  hanging  shamefully  erueified  between  two  thieves,  a 
little  band  of  fishermen  confronting  all  the  pagan  systems  of  Europe, 
and  Luther  alone  in  the  face  of  all  the  powers  of  Europe,  "then 
under  the  thumb  of  the  pope  " — these  were  all  feeble  beginnings  of 
mighty  endings.  Here  in  India,  where  this  is  written,  it  is  quite 
common  to  sneer  at  the  conquests  of  the  Gospel  among  the  low  castes 
and  the  poor,  but  even  now  we  can  hear  and  feel  the  ground-swell  of 
advancing  power  and  the  very  empire  trembling  under  the  tread  of 
their  many  times  ten  thousand  feet  on  the  mountains,  and  in  the 
plains,  publishing  the  glad  tidings  and  giving  experimental  demon- 
stration of  its  power.  Despise  not  the  day  of  small  things,  for  in 
God's  hands  they  are  the  beginning  of  gi'eat  things. 


VI. 

DEDICATING   THE   TEMPLE.— Ezra  vi,   14-22. 

(14)  And  the  elders  of  the  Jews  builded,  and  they  prospered  through  the 
prophesying  of  Haggai  the  prophet  and  Zechariah  the  son  of  Iddo.  And 
they  builded,  and  finished  it,  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  and  according  to  the  commandment  of  Cyrus,  and  Darius,  and  Ar- 
taxerxes  king  of  Persia.  (15)  And  this  house  was  finished  on  the  third  day 
of  the  month  Adar,  which  was  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Darius  the 
king.  (16)  And  the  children  of  Israel,  the  priests,  and  the  Levites,  and  the 
rest  of  the  children  of  the  captivity,  kept  the  dedication  of  this  house  of 
God  with  joy,  (17)  And  offered  at  the  dedication  of  this  house  of  God  a 
hundred  bullocks,  two  hundred  rams,  four  hundred  lambs ;  and  for  a  sin 
offering  for  all  Israel,  twelve  he  goats,  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel.  (18)  And  they  set  the  priests  in  their  divisions,  and  the  Levites 
in  their  courses,  for  the  service  of  God,  which  is  at  Jerusalem;  as  it  is 
written  in  the  book  of  Moses.  (19)  And  the  children  of  the  captivity  kept 
the  passover  upon  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month.  (20)  For  the  priests 
and  the  Levites  were  purified  together,  all  of  them  were  pure,  and  killed 
the  passover  for  all  the  children  of  the  captivity,  and  for  their  brethren  the 
priests,  and  for  themselves.  (21)  And  the  children  of  Israel,  which  were 
come  again  out  of  captivity,  and  all  such  as  had  separated  themselves  unto 
them  from  the  filthiness  of  the  heathen  of  the  land,  to  seek  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel,  did  eat,  (22)  And  kept  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  seven  days 
with  joy:  for  the  Lord  had  made  them  joyful,  and  turned  the  heart  of  the 
king  of  Assyria  unto  them,  to  strengthen  their  hands  in  the  work  of  the 
house  of  God,  the  God  of  Israel.— Ezra  vi,  14-22. 

Discouraged  and  disheartened,  the  people  had  allowed  the  work 
on  the  Temple  to  cease,  after  the  foundations  had  been  laid,  for 
about  sixteen  years.  Even  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua  seem  to  have 
acquiesced  in  this  state  of  inactivity,  having  probably  reached  the 
conclusion  that  the  completion  of  the  house  of  God,  under  present 
circumstances,  was  quite  an  impossibility.  What  with  enemies 
about  them,  enemies  at  the  court  of  the  Persian  king,  their  own 
fewness  of  number,  and  increasing  poverty,  they  had  truly  good 
human  reason  for  feeling  discouraged.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Haggai  and  Zechariah,  the  two  prophets,  came  upon  the  scene. 
The  scathing  rebukes  and  satire  of  the  one  and  the  heavenly  en- 
couragements of  the  other  at  last  awakened  these  discouraged  Jews 
to  recommence  the  work,  (v,  1,  2;  Haggai  i,  ii;  Zech.  i-vi.)  The 
value  and  importance  of  a  faithful  ministry  has  nowhere  a  better 
illustration  than  in  the  presence  of  these  two  prophets,  so  different 


FINISHING   THE   TEMPLE.  45 

in  their  gifts,  among  the  people  '^helping  them."  (v,  2.)  Without 
their  presence  the  poor  Jews  would  never  have  aroused  themselves 
to  resume  and  complete  their  w^ork.  Again,  we  may  observe  that  a 
ministry  without  the  living  Word  of  God  inspiring  it  is  without  power 
to  arouse  the  people. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  work  the  returned  exiles  had  to  con- 
tend with  malignant  enemies,  who  were  determined  that  they  should 
not  build  again  the  house  of  the  Lord ;  not,  perhaps,  that  they  cared 
anything  about  the  matter  itself,  but  because  Cyrus  had  ajiportioned 
a  large  part  of  the  revenues  of  the  province  toward  the  work,  and  this 
interfered  with  their  own  schemes  of  government  peculation.  When 
the  house  of  the  Lord  is  being  builded  it  naturally  interferes  with  the 
vices  and  wickedness  of  men,  who  in  their  turn  vindictively  seek  to 
hinder  the  work  of  God.  Nor  were  the  Jews  allowed  to  resume 
their  work  without  further  opposition.  This  time,  however,  it  was 
not  from  any  malignant  hatred  or  opposition.  Tatnai  and  the  gov- 
ernors or  satraps  on  that  side  of  the  river  were  attracted  by  the 
resumption  of  work,  and  went  to  make  inquiry  concerning  it,  nat- 
urally being  suspicious  of  any  such  formidable  undertaking  as  that 
in  their  royal  master's  dominions.  They  were  met  by  the  rulers  of 
the  people,  with  the  explanation  of  their  work,  referring  to  the  fact 
that  nearly  twenty  years  before  they  began  to  build  under  a  decree 
of  the  great  Cyrus.  Of  this  decree  the  governor  knew  nothing,  but 
was  by  the  Jews  referred  to  the  treasury  records.  These  governors 
made  report  of  this  interview  to  the  then  ruling  king  Darius  Hys- 
taspes,  who,  himself  ignorant  of  the  decree  of  the  matter,  caused 
inquiry  to  be  made,  and  found  a  copy  of  that  famous  document,  the 
decree  of  Cyrus,  in  the  record  house  of  the  empire,  and  at  once  con- 
firmed it,  granting  large  revenues  from  these  very  provinces  to  en- 
able the  Jews  to  go  forward  with  their  work.  Thus,  indeed,  did  God 
make  the  kings  of  the  earth  to  be  the  patrons  of  their  work,  as  he  had 
promised.     (Is.  xlix,  23.) 

The  sixth  chapter  of  this  record  reveals  a  strange  mixture  of 
motives  on  the  part  of  Darius,  which  is  suggestive  of  how  the  Spirit 
of  God  works  in  connection  with  the  natural  movements  of  the 
human  heart,  and  goes  far  to  show  how  divine  sovereignty  may  be 
reconciled  with  the  free  will  of  man. 


I.— FINISHING  THE   TEMPLE. 

Our  study  opens  properly  with  the  fourteenth  verse,  in  which  we 
see  how  many  agencies  wo"^k  together  with  God  for  the  carrying  for- 


46  DEDICATING   THE   TEMPLE. 

ward  of  his  work.  First  we  have  the  elders  of  the  Jews  (by  whom 
we  are  to  understand,  not  only  Joshua  the  high-priest  and  Zerub- 
babel  the  j)rince,  but  also  the  chief  men  and  heads  of  families), 
with  the  priests  and  Levites,  who  were  set  over  the  work  as  over- 
seers and  directors.  Then  the  people,  who  did  the  actual  hard  labor 
under  direction  of  the  elders,  the  priests,  and  Levites.  Then  we  have 
the  two  great  prophets  who  were  always  present,  encouraging  and 
inspiring  them  with  the  Word  of  God  as  they  received  it  fresh  from 
the  Spirit,  and  as  they  rehearsed  it  from  the  more  ancient  sacred 
Scriptures,  bringing  forth,  "like  good  scribes  of  the  kingdom,  things 
both  new  and  old  "  from  the  storehouse  of  truth.  The  command- 
ment of  God  was  their  authority  for  all  that  they  did.  Every  work 
must  prosper  and  go  forward  to  completion  which  is  done  according 
to  the  direction  of  God,  just  as  every  work  done  in  violation  of  his 
commandment  must  in  the  end  come  to  destruction.  The  secular 
governors,  though  not  caring  for  or  being  influenced  by  God's  com- 
mand, had  nevertheless  respect  to  the  old  decree  of  Cyrus,  which 
Darius,  the  present  king,  had  confirmed  and  enlarged.  Artaxerxes 
is  mentioned  in  this  record  as  also  being  a  helper  in  the  work, 
though  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  did  not  reign  until  long  after  this 
period.  He  did,  however,  during  his  reign,  order  certain  extra 
work  to  be  done  for  the  beautifying  of  the  Temple,  and  in  this  sense 
he  was  also  a  helper.  This  latter  incident  suggests  that  this  record 
was  not  written  until  years  after  the  Temple  was  finished,  probably 
in  the  later  years  of  Ezra's  life,  when  as  an  old  man  he  wrote  his 
history  of  these  events,  adding  such  reminiscences  as  were  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  put  into  the  record ;  in  this  case  giving  honor 
to  Artaxerxes,  to  whom  also  honor  was  due.  Though  he  did  com- 
paratively little,  and,  as  it  were,  at  the  eleventh  hour,  yet  he  did  it 
out  of  good  will,  and  according  to  his  opportunity,  and  so  he  has 
honorable  mention  among  the  Gentile  kings  who  helped  the  people 
of  God.  No  man  who  helps  the  people  of  God  in  their  work  for  him 
will  be  forgotten  of  God,  albeit  neither  heaven  is  won  nor  grace 
given  as  a  reward  of  human  merit. 

1.  "They  builded." — There  is  much  suggestion  and  inspira- 
tion in  this  expressive  term.  The  context  shows  that  they  did  their 
work  with  enthusiasm.  Inspired  by  the  words  of  the  prophets, 
stimulated  by  the  favoring  command  of  the  king,  anxious  lest 
anything  might  again  interrupt  the  work,  they  worked  with  a 
will,  with  gladness,  and  with  hope,  for  in  the  completion  of  that 
liouse  they  naturally  anticipated  a  revival  of  their  own  nationality 
and  the  fulfillment  of  all  the  glorious  promises  of  God.     It  was  in 


FINISHING   THE   TEMPLE.  47 

no  haphazard  work  that  they  were  engaged.  They  were  building /or 
God  and  icith  God,  and  according  to  God's  command.  How  important 
that  these  three  elements  should  enter  into  all  our  work  !  No  work 
that  is  not  ultimately  for  God's  glory  can  be  of  any  possible  use  to 
us  or  to  any  one  else ;  no  work  that  is  carried  on  without  God  can 
ultimately  come  to  a  useful  conclusion.  No  work  that  is  not  done 
according  to  God's  command  will  in  the  end  answer  the  purpose 
which  the  builders  have  in  view.  All  this  applies  to  our  own  lives  and 
spiritual  work.  We  are  commanded  to  ''build  up  ourselves  on  our 
most  holy  faith  "  ( Jude  20) ;  to  build  up  our  spiritual  character  and 
life  by  adding  and  mixing  into  our  faith  all  the  virtues  of  the  Spirit 
(II.  Pet.  i,  5-7) ;  we  are  bidden  to  "  edify  one  another  "  (I.  Thess.  v, 
11) ;  and  to  "build  ourselves  together."  Thus  building  up  personal 
character,  having  a  care  for  each  other's  spiritual  welfare,  and  work- 
ing together  in  God's  order  and  with  the  gifts  which  he  has  conferred, 
ministers  with  their  people  and  the  people  with  their  ministers,  and 
with  each  other,  the  whole  Church,  "built  upon  the  foimdation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner 
stone ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth 
unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord ;  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  to- 
gether for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit."  (Eph.  ii,  20-22. 
2.  They  prospered. — All  went  well  with  these  returned  exiles, 
now  that  they  once  again  laid  their  hands  and  their  hearts  to  the 
work.  All  the  circumstances  were  favorable  to  them.  First,  they 
had  the  command  of  God ;  then  they  had  the  presence  of  two  min- 
isters who  encouraged  them  with  divinely  inspired  words  ;  then  they 
had  the  favor  of  the  king  under  whose  dominions  for  the  present 
their  land  was.  They  had  also  a  large  spiritual  hope  for  themselves 
and  their  posterity,  of  which  this  Temple  was  to  be  the  pledge  and 
guarantee.  It  was  the  sign  and  symbol  of  God's  presence  again 
among  them  as  a  nation  after  their  long  exile.  All  these  things 
tended  to  awaken  in  their  hearts  a  great  enthusiasm  which  sent  the 
work  along  rapidly  and  successfully.  Every  element  of  prosperity 
was  in  their  present  condition  and  circumstances.  God's  people 
do  not  always  have  such  favorable  outward  surroundings  to  cheer 
them  on,  whether  in  doing  the  outward  work  in  connection  with  the 
spreading  and  enlarging  of  God's  kingdom,  or  in  the  building  up  of 
their  own  spiritual  lives.  Sometimes  the  work  is  very  hard  and  dis- 
couraging, when  all  outward  circumstances  seem  against  them,  as 
when  the  work  on  this  Temple  was  begun  nearly  twenty  years  before, 
and  under  which  their  enthusiasm  had  died  down,  and  the  work 
ceased ;  but  it  still  remains  true  that  all  work  undertaken  for  God 


48  DEDICATING   THE   TEMPLE. 

and  in  accordance  with  his  commands  is  certain  in  the  end  to  pros- 
per. It  is  said  of  the  righteous,  that  "whatsoever  he  doeth  shall 
prosper"  (Ps.  i,  3);  and  the  Apostle  encourages  the  Corinthian 
Christians  to  be  '^steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in 
vain  in  the  Lord  "  (I.  Cor.  xv,  58) ;  and  in  like  manner  he  urges  the 
Galatian  Christians  not  to  be  weary  in  well  doing,  for  the  reason  that 
they  were  sure  to  reap  in  due  time  provided  they  fainted  not.  (Gal. 
vi,  9,  10.)  In  like  manner  the  Psalmist  assures  us  that  ''he  that 
goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless 
come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him."  (Ps. 
cxxvi,  6.)  This  should  encourage  us  to  steadfastness  in  work  and 
service,  even  when  it  seems  to  be  unsuccessful.  Our  Lord's  finished 
work  never  was  so  prosperous  as  when  his  sun  seemed  to  go  down  in 
darkness,  tragedy,  and  blood,  when  he  was  "taken  and  by  wicked 
hands  crucified  and  slain."     (Acts  ii,  23.) 

3.  They  finished  it. — Not  only  so,  but  they  finished  it  accord- 
ing to  the  commandment  of  the  God  of  Israel.  It  is  needful  not  only 
to  begin  and  carry  forward  God's  work,  but  to  finish  it.  Jesus  said 
that  his  meat  and  drink  was  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father  who  sent 
him,  and  to  finish  his  work.  (John  iv,  34. )  In  his  last  prayer  he  de- 
clared that  he  had  finished  that  work  (John  xvii,  4),  and  on  the  cross 
he  reiterated  the  fact  that  his  work  was  ''finished."  (John  xix, 
30.)  Paul  alluded  to  his  work  when  he  said,  "I  have  finished  my 
course."  (II.  Tim.  iv,  7  ;  Acts  xx,  24.)  Our  work  will  not  be  finished 
as  long  as  we  have  life  and  strength  to  work.  God's  work  goes  on 
by  the  hands  of  others,  and  will  continue  to  go  forward  till  it  is  fin- 
ished, and  the  whole  family  of  God  is  gathered  into  the  living  temple 
which  he  is  building  for  himself.  However,  there  are  certain  tasks 
which  we  are  set  to  do  which  even  in  our  lifetime  we  may  finish 
and  with  joy  dedicate  to  God  as  these  Jews  did  the  second  Temple. 
God,  who  begins  the  good  work  of  grace,  will  finish  it  in  us,  and  we 
also  ought  to  strive  to  carry  forward  to  completion  every  charge  we 
are  given,  according  to  the  commandment  of  God. 

II.— THE   TEMPLE  DEDICATED. 

It  must  have  been  a  most  joyous  occasion  when  they  saw  the 
cap-stone  set,  and  when  Joshua,  Zerubbabel,  and  the  prophets  de- 
clared the  work  done,  and  that  it  was  now  ready  to  be  dedicated  to 
God.  There  is  a  suggestive  round  in  the  service  of  God.  We  first 
dedicate  ourselves  and  our  means  to  God  in  order  to  do  his  work,  and 


THE  TEMPLE  DEDICATED.  49 

then  we  dedicate  our  work  to  God  "before  going  on  to  further  service. 
The  ceremony  of  dedication  was  arranged  after  the  great  service 
in  connection  with  the  dedication  of  the  first  Temple  by  Solomon. 
(I.  Kings  viii ;  II.  Chron.  vii.)  These  exiles  had  looked  back  ruefully 
to  the  glories  of  the  Temple,  and  had  contrasted  with  it  their  dimin- 
ished work,  but  they  were  determined  to  follow  in  the  pathway  of 
that  great  service,  and  gave  their  rebuilt  Temple  to  God.  The  work 
of  our  hands  may  not  be  as  great  and  glorious  in  outward  appear-' 
ance  as  that  of  some  of  our  predecessors,  yet  the  acceptance  of  our 
work  with  God  does  not  depend  on  its  external  greatness,  but  upon 
the  sincerity  of  the  motive  with  which  we  bring  it  to  him.  They 
may  not  have  fully  understood  the  words  of  the  prophet  which  de- 
clared that  this  ''day  of  small  things"  would  be  greater  in  point 
of  glory  than  was  the  first  Temple,  yet  they  gave  it  to  God  in 
faith.  We  often  look  back  at  the  good  old  days  of  the  fathers,  and 
mourn  that  our  work  is  not  as  great  and  glorious  as  theirs ;  yet  it  is 
possible  for  our  work  to  be  as  great  as  and  even  greater  than  that 
of  our  predecessors,  if  we  ''build  according  to  the  commandment 
of  God." 

1.  All  the  people  had  part  in  it. — The  household  of  God  is 
made  up  of  many  members.  Some  are  princes,  some  high-priests, 
some  simple  priests,  and  some  Levites,  and  always  the  greater  part 
are  but  "  the  common  people  "  ;  but  aU  have  had  their  part  in  God's 
work,  and  so  we  read  that  "  the  rest  of  the  children  of  the  captivity 
kept  the  dedication  of  the  house  of  God."  God  has  no  children  too 
small,  too  young,  too  poor,  or  too  obscure  to  be  allowed  to  take  part 
in  his  work  and  to  share  in  the  offerings  at  the  dedication ;  and  God 
accepts  such  service  and  the  work  which  precedes  it,  not  according 
to  outward  bulk  or  show,  but  according  to  ability,  to  good-will,  and 
greatness  of  faith. 

2.  It  was  a  service  of  joy. — "And  the  children  of  Israel  kept 
the  dedication  of  the  house  of  God  with  joy."  It  is  striking  to  note 
how  much  is  said  of  "joy"  by  both  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  in  connec- 
tion with  the  return  of  the  exiles  and  the  building  again  of  the 
Temple.  Joy  is  one  of  the  great  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  perhaps 
there  is  no  such  measure  of  joy  in  this  universe  as  that  connected 
with  the  gospel  and  the  service  of  God.  For  joy  Jesus  endured  the 
cross  ;  there  is  joy  in  heaven  over  the  conversion  of  one  sinner ;  we 
are  told  of  great  joy  in  Samaria  over  the  conversion  of  many  during 
the  mission  of  Philip  to  that  city.  We  know  from  experience  that 
there  is  no  such  joy  in  this  life  as  that  connected  with  the  prosper- 
ity of  God's  work  among  men.     These  returned  exiles  were  filled 


50  DEDICATING  THE   TEMPLE. 

with  joy  because  in  tlie  completion  of  this  Temple  they  were  re- 
minded of  their  return  from  captivity,  of  the  return  of  God's  favor 
to  them  after  their  long  period  of  chastisement,  and  of  the  coming 
glory  promised  to  them  and  their  children.  We  should  exhaust  our 
space  were  we  to  recount  all  the  causes  of  joy,  and  the  joys  of  the 
Lord,  in  connection  with  the  life  and  the  service  of  his  beloved  Son. 
So  we  must  leave  it  for  our  readers  to  fill  up  the  gaps  for  them- 
selves. 

3.  The  offerings. — The  building  which  they  had  just  finished 
was  given  to  God,  yet  it  was  still  the  instrument  of  service  in  their 
hands  and  a  means  of  grace  and  glory.  Their  dedication  was,  there- 
fore, held  in  connection  with  the  proper  use  and  service  of  the  Tem- 
ple. The  hundred  bullocks,  the  two  hundred  rams,  and  the  four  hun- 
dred lambs  were  a  small  offering  in  comparison  with  the  barbaric 
profusion  of  offerings  with  which  Solomon  dedicated  his  Temple ; 
but  it  is  not  by  many  or  few  gifts  that  our  service  is  accepted  of 
God,  but,  as  we  have  noted  before,  according  to  ability  and  motive. 
There  is,  however,  in  this  account  of  the  dedication  a  pathetic  note 
in  connection  with  the  ^^  sin-offering."  This  of  course  was  a  part  of 
the  whole  series  of  offerings  prescribed  by  the  law  of  Moses ;  but 
the  account  singles  it  out  and  specifies  that  there  were  twelve  '^he- 
goats  for  a  sin-offering  for  all  Israel."  Here  we  have  first  a  solemn 
confession  and  remembrance  of  the  sins  of  the  nation.  It  was 
through  sin  that  they  had  been  scattered  and  carried  away  captive, 
and  their  beautiful  city  and  Temple  laid  waste  and  desolate.  In  the 
midst  of  their  joy  this  day  they  make  solemn  confession  of  that  sin, 
and  thus  mingle  bitter  herbs  with  their  spiritual  sacrifice.  That 
there  was  a  he-goat  for  each  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  suggests  that 
though  these  returned  exiles  were  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  only,  they 
still  remembered  the  ten  tribes  from  whom  they  had  been  separated 
for  centuries  in  national  life,  and  who  were  now  practically  lost 
among  the  nations  whither  they  had  been  scattered.  They  were  their 
brethren,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  joy  they  enrolled  their  names  and 
prayed  for  them.  In  our  joy  and  in  our  sorrows  we  should  always 
remember  our  brethren  and  ^^pray  for  all  men,  especially  those  of 
the  household  of  faith."  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  this  service 
was  conducted  with  the  utmost  order.  ''And  they  set  the  priests  in 
their  divisions,  and  Levites  in  their  courses,  for  the  service  of  God 
which  is  at  Jerusalem,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses."  There 
seems  to  have  been  a  thorough  determination  to  restore  the  worship 
of  God  to  its  primitive  exactness.  The  law  of  Moses  was  again 
brought  out  and  reverently  and  minutely  complied  with.     Old  land- 


CELEBRATING   THE   PASSOVER.  51 

marks  and  old  paths  were  studied,  that  the  people  might  not  err 
again  as  they  had  done  in  past  years,  wherein  they  had  followed  the 
ways  of  "the  son  of  Nebat  which  made  Israel  to  sin." 

III.— CELEBRATING  THE  PASSOVER. 

Undoubtedly  the  greatest  and  most  suggestive  of  all  the  feasts  of 
the  Jews  was  that  of  the  passover.  On  that  account  it  was  meet 
that  it  should  be  celebrated,  but  now,  especially  as  the  ceremonies 
of  dedication  coincided  in  point  of  time  with  the  exact  anniversary 
of  the  first  celebration  of  that  great  feast  (when  the  children  of 
Israel  went  up  out  of  Egypt),  it  made  the  present  celebration  pe- 
culiarly appropriate.  On  six  great  occasions  the  passover  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Scriptures — five  times  after  the  first  celebration  in 
Egypt :  in  the  wilderness  while  on  their  way  up  out  of  Egypt ;  by 
Joshua,  before  beginning  the  siege  of  Jericho,  at  Gilgal ;  once  in  the 
days  of  Hezekiah  ;  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  good  King  Josiah ;  and 
now  on  this  memorable  occasion.  (See  Ex.  xii ;  Num.  ix ;  Josh,  v ; 
II.  Chron.  xxx;  II.  Kings  xxiii,  21.)  In  each  case  the  celebration  of 
the  passover  marked  a  turning  of  the  people  again  to  God.  In  the 
case  before  us  there  must  have  been  the  thought  of  Egypt  and  the 
deliverance  out  of  that  land  in  connection  with  their  own  recent 
deliverance,  and  the  passover  took  on  a  new  significance  to  them. 

1.  The  purifying  of  the  people. — The  correct  reading  of  the 
twentieth  verse  would  give  us  the  idea  that  the  "priests  "  were  more 
or  less  defiled  with  certain  idolatrous  and  immoral  practices,  from 
which  the  Levites  were  pure.  So  it  fell  to  the  Levites  to  offer  for 
the  purifying  of  the  priests  and  for  the  people  of  the  captivity,  as 
well  as  for  themselves.  The  passover  feast  is  that  of  redemption, 
pointing  in  an  especial  manner  to  the  one  great  sacrifice  of  Christ. 
(I.  Cor.  V,  7.)  In  coming  to  Christ  the  wicked  must  forsake  his  way 
and  the  unrighteous  his  thoughts  (Is.  Iv,  7) ;  not  that  personal  right- 
eousness is  the  condition  of  coming  to  Christ,  but  we  may  not  come 
to  him  and  receive  the  benefits  of  redemption  unless  there  is  a  will- 
ingness and  a  purpose  to  forsake  sin.  Justification  is  the  way  to 
sanctification,  and  may  not  be  had  unless  the  other  blessing  is  also 
desired. 

2.  The  enlarged  company. — Besides  those  of  the  children  of 
the  captivity,  there  are  mentioned  "such  as  separated  themselves 
unto  them  from  the  filthiness  of  the  heathen  of  the  land."  This 
probably  has  reference  to  certain  Jews  who  had  been  left  in  the  land, 
"of  the  poorest  of  the  people,"  and  who  had  lapsed  into  the  idola- 


52  DEDICATING   THE   TEMPLE. 

trous  and  immoral  practices  of  the  heathen  around  them ;  or  it  may 
have  reference  to  certain  Babylonians  who  had  become  proselytes 
and  come  up  with  the  children  of  the  captivity.  In  any  case,  it  sug- 
gests that  a  real  revival  of  religion  is  certain  to  recover  to  God  both 
the  backslidden  and  the  hitherto  estranged,  and  thus  the  fellowship 
of  the  people  of  God  was  enlarged  that  day,  for  "thej  all  did  eat." 
The  turning  of  their  hearts  to  Christ  makes  all  men  brethren.  Kin- 
ship to  him  makes  us  kin  to  each  other,  for  he  is  the  great  "  Kins- 
man or  Eedeemer"  of  all  men.     (Ruth  iv,  3,  4.) 

3.  The  feast  of  unleavened  bread. — In  addition  to  the  pass- 
over,  for  seven  days  this  feast  was  also  kept,  as  a  sign  of  thorough 
turning  away  from  sin  and  a  dedication  of  themselves  to  holiness. 
(See  Ex.  xii,  15;  xiii,  7 ;  Lev.  xxiii,  6;  I.  Cor.  v,  7,  8.)  Communion 
with  Christ  our  Passover  means  thorough  purification  of  the  flesh  and 
of  the  life.  The  end  of  God's  salvation  is  *' holiness  unto  the  Lord." 
The  feast  was  kept  with  joy — in  their  case  joy  for  temporal  deliv- 
erance and  present  prosperity,  in  our  case  joy  for  the  deliverance 
from  sin,  and  the  saving  grace  of  God  and  the  promises  of  glory 
with  him. 


VII. 

NEHEMIAH'S    PRAYER.— Nehemiah   I,    i-i  i. 

(1)  The  words  of  Neliemiah  the  son  of  Hachaliah.  And  it  came  to  pass 
in  the  month  Chisleu,  in  the  twentieth  year,  as  I  was  in  Shushan  the  palace, 
(2)  That  Hanani,  one  of  my  brethren,  came,  he  and  certain  men  of  Judah ; 
and  I  asked  them  concerning  the  Jews  that  had  escaped,  which  were  left 
of  the  captivity,  and  concerning  Jerusalem.  (3)  And  they  said  unto  me, 
The  remnant  that  are  left  of  the  captivity  there  in  the  province  are  in  great 
affiiction  and  reproach :  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  also  is  broken  down,  and  the 
gates  thereof  are  burned  with  fire.  (4)  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  I  heard 
these  words,  that  I  sat  down  and  wept,  and  mourned  certain  days,  and 
fasted,  and  prayed  before  the  God  of  heaven,  (5)  And  said,  I  beseech  thee, 
O  Lord  God  of  heaven,  the  great  and  terrible  God,  that  keepeth  covenant 
and  mercy  for  them  that  love  him  and  observe  his  commandments :  (6)  Let 
thine  ear  now  be  attentive,  and  thine  eyes  open,  that  thou  mayest  hear  the 
prayer  of  thy  servant,  which  I  pray  before  thee  now,  day  and  night,  for  the 
children  of  Israel  thy  servants,  and  confess  the  sins  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
which  we  have  sinned  against  thee:  both  I  and  my  father's  house  have 
sinned.  (7)  We  have  dealt  very  corruptly  against  thee,  and  have  not  kept 
the  commandments,  nor  the  statutes,  nor  the  judgments,  which  thou  com- 
mandedst  thy  servant  Moses.  (8)  Remember,  I  beseech  thee,  the  word  that 
thou  commandedst  thy  servant  Moses,  saying.  If  ye  transgress,  I  will  scat- 
ter you  abroad  among  the  nations:  (9)  But  if  ye  turn  unto  me,  and  keep  my 
commandments,  and  do  them ;  though  there  were  of  you  cast  out  unto  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  heaven,  yet  will  I  gather  them  from  thence,  and  will 
bring  them  unto  the  place  that  I  have  chosen  to  set  my  name  there.  (10) 
Now  these  are  thy  servants  and  thy  people,  whom  thou  hast  redeemed  by 
thy  great  power,  and  by  thy  strong  hand.  (11)  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  let 
now  thine  ear  be  attentive  to  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  and  to  the  prayer 
of  thy  servants,  who  desire  to  fear  thy  name :  and  prosper,  I  pray  thee,  thy 
servant  this  day,  and  grant  him  mercy  in  the  sight  of  this  man.  For  I  was 
the  king's  cupbearer.— Nehemiah  i,  1-11. 

The  Book  of  Nehemiah  was  formerly  a  part  of  the  Book  of  Ezra, 
or  rather  in  the  old  Jewish  canon  these  two  books  were  considered  as 
one.  This  will  probably  account  for  the  formula  at  the  beginning, 
"The  words  of  Nehemiah,"  to  mark  off  this  part  of  the  book  from 
that  of  which  Ezra  was  the  author.  Nehemiah's  is  a  personal  nar- 
rative, and  is,  in  fact,  a  continuation  of  the  story  of  the  re-settle- 
ment of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonian  exiles.  Ezra's  story  is  princi- 
pally concerning  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  which  was  begun 
under  Cyi'us  and  finished  twenty  years  afterward  under  the  patron^ 
age  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  and  some  account  of  the  further  work  of 


54  NEHEMIAH'S  PRAYER. 

colonization,  or  rather  re-colonization  and  restoration  of  the  old 
national  life  of  the  people  and  temple  worship.  Up  to  the  time  of 
Nehemiah  it  is  most  probable  that  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  re- 
build the  walls  of  Jerusalem  or  its  towers  of  defense.  The  renewed 
Temple  stood  on  the  old  site,  but  it  stood  alone,  without  defensive 
forts  and  without  the  palace ;  the  walls  of  the  city  were  yet  heaps  of 
ruins,  and  in  many  other  respects  Jerusalem  was  but  a  sorry  city. 
Little  or  no  prosperity  had  as  yet  come  to  the  people.  They  were 
poor  and  miserable  upon  the  whole,  and  were  evidently  hated  and 
despised  by  their  surrounding  neighbors.  Ezra  was  a  man  full  of 
zeal,  piety,  and  resources,  but  Joshua  and  Zerubbabel  seem  not  to 
have  been  men  of  very  great  ability,  as  witness  the  fact  that  they  had 
allowed  the  work  of  rebuilding  the  Temple  to  lapse  for  sixteen  years, 
and  only  moved  again  when  the  prophets  Haggai  and  Zeehariah 
appeared  on  the  scene  to  stir  them  up  and  watch  over  them.  Years 
had  now  passed  away  since  the  Temple  had  been  dedicated  with 
such  great  joy.  Darius,  their  second  kingly  friend,  had  passed 
away  with  his  dynasty,  and  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  had  ascended 
the  throne.  He  also  had  from  the  beginning  shown  himself  friendly 
toward  the  Jews,  as  seen  by  the  fact  that  Ezra  had  coupled  his 
name  with  that  of  Cyrus  and  Darius,  and  also  that  he  had  made  a 
large  royal  grant  to  beautify  the  Temple  after  it  had  been  finished 
under  the  reign  of  his  predecessor.  (Ezra  vii. )  The  whole  period  of 
time  between  the  first  return  under  Ezra  and  the  date  at  which  our 
present  study  begins  must  have  been  not  far  from  eighty  years,  or 
about  sixty  years  from  the  finishing  of  the  Temple.  During  this 
time,  as  I  have  already  said,  affairs  in  Jerusalem  had  fallen  into  a 
very  low  and  distressful  condition.  At  the  court  of  Artaxerxes 
there  was  a  young  Jew,  our  Nehemiah,  who  seems  to  have  been  a 
great  favorite  with  the  king  and  occupied  the  high  and  honorable 
position  of  "cupbearer."  (v.  11.)  It  does  not  appear  that  Nehemiah 
had  ever  been  to  Jerusalem,  or  that  up  to  this  time  he  had  been  in 
any  particular  or  special  way  interested  in  the  affairs  of  his  country- 
men. There  was  naturally  but  little  intercourse  between  the  court 
of  the  great  king  and  the  feeble  and  distant  colony  of  the  Jews. 
Nehemiah,  however,  like  many  of  his  countrymen  and  fellow-relig- 
ionists, was  a  devoted  and  pious  Jew.  He  kept  firmly  to  his  faith  in 
the  foreign  court,  like  Daniel  and  Ezra,  and  seems  not  in  any  wise 
to  have  been  hindered  in  the  free  exercise  of  it.  He  was  interested 
in  his  people — as  a  rich  and  prosperous  city  man  may  be  interested 
in  his  country  cousins,  with  whom,  however,  he  may  never  have  had 
personal  acquaintance.    A  circumstance  occurred  at  this  time  which 


BAD   NEWS    FROM   JExiUSALEM.  55 

aroused  all  his  interest,  quickened  his  love  for  his  poor  countrymen, 
and  stirred  all  the  latent  patriotism  and  piety  of  his  heart.  On 
some  account  his  brother  Ilanani  had  been  to  Jerusalem,  and  re- 
turning with  some  other  Jews  to  the  court  in  Babylon,  Nehemiah 
asked  them  concerning  the  state  of  affairs  there.  This  question 
and  the  answer  seem  to  have  wrought  a  revolution  in  the  whole 
mind,  heart,  and  character  of  Nehemiah,  and  changed  the  whole 
course  of  his  hitherto  easy  and  luxurious  life  at  court. 

I.— BAD   NEWS   FROM  JERUSALEM. 

The  news  which  Hanani  brought  from  Jerusalem  was  sad  in- 
deed, and  was  a  revelation  to  Nehemiah.  He  had  doubtless  sup- 
posed that  under  tlie  aged  but  still  vigorous  Ezra  the  restored 
people  of  the  captivity  were  doing  well  enough,  especially  as  he 
seems  to  have  heard  nothing  to  the  contrary.  It  is  often  the  case 
that  poor  and  distressed  relations  do  not  intrude  their  afflictions 
and  woes  upon  their  more  prosperous  kinsmen,  and  sometimes  also 
that  distress  and  affliction  are  so  habitual  and  common  that  it  does 
not  occur  to  the  sufferers  that  there  is  anything  unusual  in  their  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  again,  it  is  sometimes  true  that  real  piety,  which 
accepts  and  bears  with  patience  the  estate  in  which  God's  provi- 
dence leaves  his  people,  does  not  readily  spread  the  story  of  affliction 
abroad.  Ezra  had  made  no  complaint  to  his  prosperous  countryman 
residing  in  the  palace  of  the  king,  or  else  (which  is  more  probable) 
he  was  too  busy  with  his  works  of  reformation  and  purification  to 
think  of  doing  such  a  thing,  assuming  most  naturally  that  it  would 
be  time  enough  to  make  an  appeal  to  Nehemiah,  and  other  prosper- 
ous Jews  still  residing  in  Babylon,  after  they  had  done  all  they  could 
to  help  themselves.  The  news  from  Jerusalem  was  bad  indeed,  and 
it  covered  two  points. 

1.  The  afl9.iction  of  the  people. — Between  sixty  and  eighty 
years  had  passed  since  the  first  colony  went  up.  At  best  but  few 
of  the  more  wealthy  Jews  had  returned  with  the  exiles,  preferring 
to  remain  in  the  country  (where  most  of  them  had  been  born,  and 
where  they  had  become  wonted  to  the  new  conditions,  which  were 
not  hard)  to  breaking  up  their  homes  and  undertaking  the  hard  and 
unthankful  task  of  making  new  homes  again,  even  in  their  own  land. 
Self-interest  and  religious  indifference  were  stronger  with  them  than 
patriotism  and  piety.  So  it  occurred  that  the  returned  exiles  were 
for  the  most  part  the  poorest  Jews.  Their  resources  had  been  taxed 
to  the  utmost  to  rebuild  the  Temple  and  to  recover  their  homes. 


56  NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER. 

The  times  had  not  been  prosperous  either,  and  npon  the  whole  they 
had  fallen  into  a  very  poor  and  low  state  indeed.  They  were  in 
"great  aflOiiction  and  reproach."  Their  aflQ.iction  consisted,  first,  of 
the  real  poverty  and  distress  which  they  were  suffering,  as  well  as 
the  rudeness  and  the  hostility  of  the  surrounding  people,  who 
always  hated  the  Jews,  and  most  likely  lost  no  opportunity  of  add- 
ing to  their  distress  either  by  oppression  or  even  by  actual  violence. 
The  spirit  Avhich  Nehemiah  afterward  encountered  among  these 
people  is  ample  proof  of  their  evil  attitude  toward  these  Jewish 
colonists.  Their  rejDroach  consisted  of  their  low  state,  and  the 
taunts  and  jeers  with  which  they  were  everywhere  greeted  by  their 
more  prosperous  neighbors,  especially  by  the  Samaritans,  as  also  by 
the  conduct  of  Sanballat  and  Tobiah  the  Ammonite,  (ii,  10 ;  iv,  1-4 ; 
vi,  1,  2. )  An  unwalled  city  in  those  days  was  regarded  as  no  city  at 
all,  and  was  sad  proof  of  poverty  and  feebleness.  On  this  account 
they  were  being  constantly  taunted  and  insulted.  Out  here  in  India 
I  am  daily  witnessing  the  same  state  of  things.  The  native  Chris- 
tians are  "in  great  afiliction  and  reproach."  For  the  most  part 
they  are  of  low  caste,  poor,  and  without  influence  among  the  ruling 
classes,  either  native  or  European.  They  are  being  constantly 
mocked  by  their  rich  and  more  prosperous  neighbors,  and  by  none 
more  cruelly  than  by  the  unconverted  Europeans,  who  seem  to  take 
especial  delight  in  reproaching  and  slandering  them  on  all  occa- 
sions. Even  among  many  who  call  themselves  Christians  I  find  this 
spirit.  It  is  rarely  that  I  hear  a  good  word  for  native  Christians 
from  the  European  Christian(  ?  )  community.  Their  "feebleness  and 
poverty  "  seem  to  be  an  offense  wdiich  their  prosperity  cannot  con- 
done or  justify.  This  condition  of  things  must  have  struck  Hanani 
all  the  more  because  he  himself  was  a  prosperous  man  in  Babylon, 
and  to  him  the  affliction  of  the  children  of  the  captivity  may  have 
seemed  even  worse  than  it  really  was. 

2.  The  condition  of  Jerusalem. — ^^The  wall  of  Jerusalem  also 
is  broken  down,  and  the  gates  thereof  are  burned."  When  Nebu- 
chadnezzar more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  had  sacked 
the  city  and  carried  away  the  people  captive,  he  left  it  a  heap  of 
ruins.  "He  burnt  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  the  king's  house,  and 
all  the  houses  of  Jerusalem,  and  every  great  man's  house  burnt  he 
with  fire.'^  ''And  all  the  army  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  were  with  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  brake  down  all  the  walls  of  Jerusalem."  (II. 
Kings  XXV,  9,  10 ;  Is.  Ixiv,  10, 11 ;  Jer.  lii,  14.)  There  is  no  evidence 
that  these  walls  were  ever  rebuilt.  The  Samaritan  accusation  (Ezra 
iv,  12)  was  evidently  a  false  one,  based  upon  what  they  supposed 


NEHEMIAH'S    SORROW.  57 

was  the  purpose  of  the  Jews,  seeing  they  had  begun  to  rebuild  the 
Temple.  This  wretched  and  defenseless  condition  of  the  Jews  at 
Jerusalem  greatly  shocked  Hanani,  and  the  fact  of  it  struck  Nehe- 
miah  with  sorrow  and  shame.  It  could  never  be  said  that  the  peo- 
ple were  truly  restored  so  long  as  Jerusalem  was  still  this  heap  of 
ruins.  Even  with  the  Temple  rebuilt  and  many  private  houses  re- 
stored, the  city  itself  was  still  a  desolation  without  walls.  These 
broken  walls,  the  burnt  and  charred  remains  of  the  once  powerful 
and  strong  gates,  were  a  standing  reproach,  especially  in  a  coun- 
try and  at  a  time  when  every  city  and  every  small  town  was  walled 
and  defended  by  towers  and  battlements.  These  broken  walls 
showed  all  the  more  the  wretched  condition  of  the  Jews  since  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple.  What  security  had  they  against  any 
attack  from  their  enemies  ?  Already  war  with  Egypt  was  threaten- 
ing, and  if  that  event  took  place  the  whole  country  would  be  in  a 
blaze,  and  the  Temple  itself,  instead  of  affording  protection,  would 
court  attack,  in  order  that  its  rich  belongings  might  once  more  be- 
come a  prey.  This  sad  condition  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  people 
dwelling  in  it  may  be  taken  as  an  allegory  of  a  backslidden  condi- 
tion of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  any  period.  We  may  even  find 
reason  to  compare  the  condition  of  the  Church  to-day  in  some  re- 
spects with  that  of  Jerusalem  at  this  time.  The  coldness,  indiffer- 
ence, sectarian  divisions,  the  strifes,  errors,  and  destructive  work 
of  so-called  ''  higher  criticisms,  "  the  apostasies  in  doctrine,  and  the 
worse  apostasies  in  life,  and  the  general  disposition  to  conform  the 
Church  and  Christian  life  to  the  world  and  its  ways,  are  so  many 
breaches  in  our  walls  of  defense,  through  which  the  enemy  may 
come  in  upon  us,  and  which  in  any  case  are  a  reproach  to  us,  and 
ought  to  grieve  our  hearts,  as  this  sad  news  from  Jerusalem  stirred 
the  heart  of  Nehemiah. 

II.— NEHEMIAH'S   SORROW. 

The  bad  news  brought  by  his  brother  and  companions  came  as  a 
sudden  and  dreadful  shock  to  Nehemiah.  He  was  suddenly  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  his  relation  to  the  people  of  God.  Here  was  he,  living 
in  a  king's  palace,  occupying  a  position  of  honor  and  emolument, 
and  the  city  of  God  and  her  people  in  affliction,  reproach,  and 
danger.  He  was  awakened,  as  it  were,  out  of  sleep  and  from  pleas- 
ant dreams  by  the  cry  of  fire.  His  was  a  noble  heart,  and  his  the 
sorrow  of  a  true  child  of  God  and  a  patriot.  The  distress  of  God's 
people  became  his  distress,  and  their  reproach  his  reproach.     For 


58  NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER. 

him  there  was  no  more  peace  and  comfort.  "With  all  the  passion 
and  abandonment  of  a  true  Oriental  he  gave  himself  up  for  a  time 
to  grief.  He  "  sat  down  and  wept,  and  mourned  certain  days,  and 
fasted,  and  prayed  before  the  God  of  heaven."  In  this  brief  pathetic 
sentence  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  deep  sorrow  of  Nehemiah,  and  the 
awakening  of  his  piety  and  patriotism  into  intense  activity, 

1.  He  sat  down  and  wept. — This  is  a  revelation  of  the  first 
awakening  of  his  emotional  nature.  It  is  intensely  descriptive  of 
Orientals,  as  well  as  of  his  own  fiery  and  impetuous  character.  It 
reminds  us  of  David,  who  said  that  ''tears  were  his  meat  day  and 
night."  There  are  those  who  despise  emotional  people,  and  regard 
tears  as  a  sign  of  weakness.  But  in  this  ease,  at  least,  it  was  the 
breaking  up  and  the  loosening  of  the  bonds  of  a  noble  character, 
which  were  but  preliminary  to  a  mighty  activity,  placing  Nehemiah 
in  the  front  rank  of  his  countrjnnen,  and  exalting  him  in  after-years 
above  even  Ezra.  Tears  are  either  the  sign  of  weakness  or  of 
strength,  as  the  sequel  shall  prove.  He  did  not  sit  down  in  despair, 
but  prayed  before  the  God  of  heaven,  in  deep  sorrow,  as  Hezekiah 
went  in  before  the  Lord  when  Sennacherib  came  up  against  Jeru- 
salem. (II.  Kings  xix,  1.)  There  is  a  time  to  weep  before  the  Lord 
as  well  as  a  time  to  rejoice  before  him,  and  this  was  one  of  those 
times.     All  honor  to  the  tears  of  Nehemiah. 

2.  He  mourned. — This  was  a  part  of  the  movement  of  his 
heart.  He  mourned  over  the  condition  of  his  people,  over  the  deso- 
lation of  the  Holy  City,  over  the  reproach  upon  the  name  of  God,  and 
over  the  sins  of  the  people  which  had  brought  them  to  this  low  es- 
tate and  which  had  not  yet  been  put  away. 

3.  He  fasted. — Sometimes  we  read  in  Scripture  of  a  national 
fast  being  proclaimed  (Jonah  iii,  7,  8) ;  sometimes  individuals  gave 
themselves  up  to  fasting  before  the  Lord,  as  did  Daniel  (Dan.  ix,  3 ; 
X,  3),  Esther  (Esther  iv,  16),  and  Ezra  (Ezra  x,  6) ;  so  now  Nehemiah 
"fasted  before  the  Lord."  It  was  the  expression  of  his  feelings 
that  when  Jerusalem  was  "  a  reproach  "  it  was  no  time  for  him  to  be 
delighting  and  indulging  himself  in  comfort  and  gratifying  himself 
with  court  delicacies.  So  severe  was  his  fast  that  months  afterward 
(while  it  was  still  in  progress)  it  caused  the  king  to  mark  his  altered 
appearance,  (ii,  2.)  His  long  fast  was  a  sign  of  the  genuineness  of 
his  sorrow. 

4.  He  prayed. — His  was  a  sorrow  which  did  not  suffer  itself 
to  be  idle,  or  sink  into  mere  depression  or  despair.  He  carried  his 
grief  and  trouble  to  God.  There  is  no  place  like  the  throne  of  grace 
for  dealing  with  our  troubles.     So  like  to  the  action  of  Daniel  was 


NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER.  59 

the  movement  of  Nehemiah,  that  we  may  conclude  that  he  had  read 
and  deeply  pondered  the  story  of  the  sorrow,  fasting,  and  prayer 
which  that  great  prophet  had  left  behind  him.  (Compare  Dan.  ix,  x.) 
There  is  no  more  profitable  line  of  study  than  that  of  the  biography 
of  good  men.  Not  that  we  are  artificially  to  imitate  them,  but  that 
it  opens  up  to  us  a  knowledge  of  their  secret  way  before  God,  which 
in  our  time  of  need  and  distress  comes  to  our  help.  Prayer  is  the 
mightiest  resource  which  the  children  of  God  have  in  time  of  need. 
If  there  was  more  prayer  among  us  there  would  be  less  cause  for 
tears,  and  more  prosperity.  It  is  better  to  "continue  in  prayer" 
before  afflictions  come,  but  it  is  certainly  well  to  pray  when  they 
come.  Prayer  is  both  a  means  of  prevention  and  a  cure.  If  we 
have  failed  to  use  it  as  a  preventive,  let  us  not  therefore  fail  to  use 
it  as  a  means  toward  relief. 

III.— NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER. 

The  prayer  of  Nehemiah,  as  he  opens  it  up  to  us,  is  so  full  that 
we  can  but  hope  to  outline  the  characteristics  without  going  into  a 
full  analysis  of  it.  It  is  certainly  given  us  as  a  model  prayer,  and 
marks  out  a  pathway  in  which  we  may  all  do  well  to  tread. 

1.  Adoration. — He  begins  his  prayer  by  a  reverent  ascription 
of  praise  and  adoration.  He  uses,  in  the  first  place,  Daniel's  favorite 
title,  the  "God  of  heaven,"  and  then  he  calls  him  the  ''great  and 
terrible  God."  Nehemiah  was  no  doubt  thinking  of  the  greatness 
of  God's  mercies  in  the  past  history  of  the  people,  who  had  been 
the  peculiar  favorites  of  heaven,  and  the  ''terribleness  of  his  judg- 
ments "  which  had  fallen  upon  them  through  ''his  breach  of  cove- 
nant "  on  account  of  their  sins.  He  alluded  to  both  these  sides  of 
God's  character  when  he  adds,  "that  keepeth  covenant  and  mercy 
for  them  that  love  him  and  observe  his  commandments,"  and  yet 
that  "will  in  no  case  clear  the  guilty."  (Ex.  xxxiv,  7.)  He  refers 
to  this  feature  of  God's  dealing  further  on  in  his  prayer.  It  is  a 
sign  of  reverence  and  adoration  to  recognize  and  bow  to  the  right- 
eous judgments  of  God,  as  well  as  to  the  multitude  of  his  tender 
mercies. 

2.  Supplication. — Nehemiah  next  casts  himself  in  supplication 
before  God.  "  Let  now  thine  ear  be  attentive  and  thine  eyes  open 
that  thou  mayest  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant."  There  is  an 
"  holy  boldness  "  in  this  form  of  petition  which,  however,  is  fully 
warranted  by  all  that  God  has  revealed  of  himself  concerning  his 
gracious  relations  toward  us.     "The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over  the 


60  NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER. 

righteous,  and  his  ears  are  open  to  their  prayers."  (I.  Pet.  iii,  12.) 
Nothing  pleases  God  more  than  that  his  people  should  plead  his  own 
character  and  remind  him  of  his  promises  when  supplicating  before 
him.  We  may  without  fear  of  presumption  always  call  upon  God 
to  be  true  to  himself,  even  in  respect  of  granting  mercy  to  the  most 
unworthy  and  wrath-deserving  of  his  people.  This  Nehemiah  well 
knew  from  his  study  of  the  Scriptures,  in  which  God  has  made 
kno\^^^  to  us  all  his  purpose  of  grace  and  all  his  method  of  procedure 
with  sinners.  In  his  supplication  he  manifested  and  displayed  the 
most  earnest  and  importunate  desire.  "  Which  I  pray  before  thee 
now,  day  and  night,  for  thy  servants  the  children  of  Israel."  He 
calls  himself  "thy  servant,"  and  he  speaks  of  the  childi'en  of  Israel 
as  "thy  servants."  In  this  also  he  was  wise.  God  is  pleased  with 
us  when  we  take  our  proper  place,  and  lay  claim  to  the  kinship  which 
he  has  granted  us.  The  prodigal  son  was  not  wise  in  his  humility 
when  he  said,  ''Make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants."  His  true 
position  was  that  of  a  son,  though  a  sinful,  unworthy,  and  undeserv- 
ing one.     His  father  put  him  right  on  that  point  at  once. 

3.  Confession. — Nehemiah,  while  pleading  before  God  the  fact 
that  both  he  and  the  children  of  Israel  were  God's  servants  and  the 
objects  of  his  especial  covenant  regard,  did  not  withhold  from  God 
the  most  comprehensive  confession  of  their  sins.  "  We  have  sinned 
against  thee  :  both  I  and  my  father's  house  have  sinned.  We  have 
dealt  very  corruptly  against  thee,  and  have  not  kept  the  command- 
ments, nor  the  statutes,  nor  the  judgments."  Here  he  identifies  him- 
self with  the  people  even  of  the  past  generation,  on  whose  account  all 
the  wrath  of  God  had  come  upon  the  nation.  Here  again  he  fol- 
lowed Daniel's  noble  example.  (Dan.  ix. )  Perhaps  he  remembered  the 
great  promises  of  God  made  to  the  children  of  Israel  at  the  time  of 
the  dedication  of  the  first  Temple.  ''If  my  people,  which  are  called 
by  my  name,  shall  humble  themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek  my  face, 
and  turn  from  their  wicked  ways ;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and 
will  forgive  their  sin,  and  will  heal  their  land."  (II.  Chron.  vii,  14.) 
Prayer  for  forgiveness  and  healing  is  never  effectual  without  con- 
fession ;  Nehemiah  well  understood  this,  and  nobly  and  sincerely 
fulfilled  this  condition. 

4.  Argument. — In  his  prayer  and  confession  he  mingles  argu- 
ment. He  gathers  together  the  pith  of  many  of  God's  former  decla- 
rations and  promises,  and  brings  them  all  before  him.  He  reminds 
him  that  he  had  been  faithful  to  his  word  in  punishing  and  dispers- 
ing them  for  their  sins,  and  urges  that  he  must,  to  be  true  to  him- 
self, be  equally  faithful   in  recovering  these  scattered  ones,  even 


NEHEMIAH'S   PRAYER.  61 

from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  (Neh.  i,  8,  9 ;  Lev.  xxvi,  33 ; 
Deut.  iv,  27;  xxviii,  64.)  Thus  did  he  take  '^ words  with  him"  and 
appear  before  the  Lord,  and  argue  his  people's  case.  He  added  this 
utmost  plea:  ''Now  these  are  thy  servants  and  thy  people,  whom 
thou  hast  redeemed  by  thy  great  power  and  thy  strong  hand."  As 
though  he  had  said,  ''Thou  art  bound  by  that  redemption  now  to 
save  them.  Thou  canst  not  cast  them  off  forever.  They  are  thine, 
and  thou  must  care  for  them  and  fulfill  thy  purposes."  This  is  a 
fine  example  to  us  of  interces^on  for  others. 

5.  A  special  petition. — Nehemiah  had  already  formed  in  his 
own  mind  a  plan,  which  in  order  to  carry  out  he  must  have  the 
favor  and  help  of  his  earthly  master  the  king.  He  becomes  very 
humble  here,  and  urges  that,  though  all  unworthy,  he  "desires"  to 
fear  God's  name.  This  is  very  pathetic.  "  Prosper,  I  pray  thee,  thy 
servant  this  day,  and  grant  him  mercy  in  the  sight  of  this  man." 
That  is,  in  the  sight  of  Artaxerxes,  on  whom  he  must  depend  for 
the  carrying  out  of  his  plan.  Definiteness  of  purpose  and  a  i)lan  to 
serve  the  Lord  ought  to  go  along  with  every  prayer,  looking  for  help 
from  the  sanctuary.  God  is  always  ready  to  help  those  who  are 
purposed  to  help  themselves,  and  to  give  power  to  those  who  have 
a  definite  purpose  and  plan  in  the  use  of  it. 


VIII. 

REBUILDING   THE   WALL— Nehemiah    Iv,  9-21. 

(9)  Nevertheless  we  made  our  prayer  unto  our  God,  and  set  a  watch 
against  them  day  and  night,  because  of  "^hem.  (10)  And  Judah  said,  The 
strength  of  the  bearers  of  burdens  is  decayed,  and  there  is  much  rubbish ; 
so  that  we  are  not  able  to  build  the  wall.  (11)  And  our  adversaries  said. 
They  shall  not  know,  neither  see,  till  we  come  in  the  midst  among  them, 
and  slay  them,  and  cause  the  work  to  cease.  (12)  And  it  came  to  pass,  that 
when  the  Jews  which  dwelt  by  them  came,  they  said  unto  us  ten  times, 
From  all  places  whence  ye  shall  return  unto  us  they  will  be  upon  you. 
(13)  Therefore  set  I  in  the  lower  places  behind  the  wall,  and  on  the  higher 
places,  I  even  set  the  people  after  their  families  with  their  swords,  their 
spears,  and  their  bows.  (14)  And  I  looked,  and  rose  up,  and  said  unto  the 
nobles,  and  to  the  rulers,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  people.  Be  not  ye  afraid  of 
them:  remember  the  Lord,  which  is  great  and  terrible,  and  fight  for  your 
brethren,  your  sons,  and  your  daughters,  your  wives,  and  your  houses. 
(15)  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  our  enemies  heard  that  it  was  known  unto 
us,  and  God  had  brought  their  counsel  to  nought,  that  we  returned  all  of 
us  to  the  wall,  every  one  unto  his  work.  (16)  And  it  came  to  pass  from  that 
time  forth,  that  the  half  of  my  servants  wrought  in  the  work,  and  the  other 
half  of  them  held  both  the  spears,  the  shields,  and  the  bows,  and  the  haber- 
geons ;  and  the  rulers  were  behind  all  the  house  of  Judah.  (17)  They  which 
builded  on  the  wall,  and  they  that  bare  burdens,  with  those  that  laded, 
every  one  with  one  of  his  hands  wrought  in  the  work,  and  with  the  other 
hand  held  a  weapon.  (18)  For  the  builders,  every  one  had  his  sword  girded 
by  his  side,  and  so  builded.  And  he  that  sounded  the  trumpet  was  by  me. 
19)  And  I  said  unto  the  nobles,  and  to  the  rulers,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  work  is  great  and  large,  and  we  are  separated  upon  the  wall,  one 
far  from  another.  (20)  In  what  place  therefore  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  resort  ye  thither  unto  us :  our  God  shall  fight  for  us.  (21)  So  we 
laboured  in  the  work :  and  half  of  them  held  the  spears  from  the  rising  of 
the  morning  till  the  stars  appeared.— Nehemiah  iv,  9-21. 

It  would  seem  that  at  tlie  time  Nehemiah  received  the  news  of 
the  distressful  eondition  of  the  people  and  city  of  Jerusalem,  he  was 
either  off  duty  (as  personal  cupbearer  to  the  king),  or  that  the  king 
was  absent  from  the  palace.  At  any  rate,  some  weeks,  if  not  months, 
had  elapsed,  and  when  Nehemiah  came  again  into  the  presence  of 
the  king,  the  king  at  once  noticed  the  changed  condition  of  his 
countenance,  and  how  sad  and  wasted  he  was.  He  inquired  the 
cause,  surmising  that  it  was  ''nothing  else  but  sorrow  of  heart." 
Upon  this  Nehemiah  told  the  king  the  cause  of  his  distress.  The 
king  was  sympathetic,  and  asked  his  servant  what  he  would  like 


A   TRIAL   OF   CRUEL   MOCKING.  63 

him  to  do  in  the  matter.  Instantly  Nehemiah  sent  up  one  of  those 
short  ejaculatory  prayers  which  are  so  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
the  man.  '^  So  I  prayed  to  the  God  of  heaven  "  (ii,  4)  j  not  aloud  of 
course,  but  in  his  heart.  After  this  he  boldly  asks  to  be  appointed 
governor  of  Jerusalem,  and  sent  to  the  city  with  authority  to  re- 
build the  walls  and  governor's  house,  and  restore  its  defenses. 
This  request  the  king  at  once  granted,  and  further  gave  him  letters 
to  the  governors  of  the  district,  and  to  the  keeper  of  the  royal 
forests,  desiring  the  latter  to  supply  to  Nehemiah  all  the  timber  he 
required,  and  appointing  a  guard  of  mounted  soldiers  to  accompany 
him.  In  due  course  he  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  much  to  the  indignation 
of  Sanballat  (ii,  10),  who  was  grieved  exceedingly  that  there  had 
come  a  man  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  children  of  Israel.  Nehemiah 
went  on  into  the  city,  but  did  not  at  once  communicate  with  his 
own  friends  as  to  the  nature  of  his  visit  or  intentions.  He  first 
(secretly  and  at  night)  made  two  excursions  around  the  broken  walls 
of  Jerusalem  to  see  the  extent  of  the  damage,  and  no  doubt  to  en- 
able him  better  to  lay  his  plans.  In  this  he  illustrated  those  char- 
acteristics of  political  sagacity  for  which  he  was  distinguished. 
Having  made  his  plans,  he  takes  the  rulers  of  Jerusalem  into  his 
confidence,  tells  them  of  the  commission  he  has  from  the  king,  and 
all  the  favor  which  God  had  given  him  with  that  monarch,  and 
proposes  that  they  at  once,  each  and  all  of  them,  begin  the  work 
of  rebuilding  the  walls.  When  it  was  become  known  to  Sanballat 
and  Tobiah  that  they  were  about  to  rebuild  the  walls,  they  laughed 
them  to  scorn ;  but  Nehemiah  simply  answered  that  the  God  of 
heaven  would  prosper  them,  and  they  would  build,  but  that  Sanbal- 
lat and  his  Samaritan  fellows  had  no  lot  or  part  in  the  matter,  (ii, 
20;  Ezra  iv,  3.)  The  third  chapter  is  taken  up  with  an  account  of 
how  the  work  was  planned.  Nehemiah  had  separated  the  people  by 
their  families,  and  appointed  each  family  to  a  certain  portion  of  the 
wall,  so  that,  as  it  were,  every  man  builded  over  against  his  own 
house.  Thus  the  work  went  on  for  a  considerable  time,  until  their 
enemies  came  upon  them  to  hinder  them. 

I.— A  TRIAL   OF   CRUEL  MOCKING. 

Among  the  trials  of  faith  which  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  mentions  is  this.  ''And  others  had  trial  of  cruel  mock- 
ings."  Perhaps  there  is  nothing  harder  to  bear  than  the  jeering 
mockery  of  people  who  hate  you  but  who  at  the  same  time  hold  you 
in  too  great  contempt  to  contend  with  you  as  an  equal.     Noah,  no 


G4  REBUILDING   THE   WALL. 

doubt,  suffered  much  from  the  mockery  of  the  antediluvians,  who  re- 
garded him  as  a  crazy  old  fanatic  while  he  preached  and  builded  the 
ark.  Lot  "  seemed  to  his  sons-in-law  "  a  foolish  and  weak  man  be- 
cause he  warned  them  to  flee  from  the  coming  wrath  of  God.  The 
mockery  of  the  young  men  of  Bethel  was  too  great  for  the  equanim- 
ity even  of  so  good  a  man  as  Elisha.  Even  Jesus  was  made  the  tar- 
get of  mock  homage  and  worship  when  he  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
soldiers,  who  clothed  him  with  the  old  cast-off  military  coat,  placed 
the  crown  of  thorns  on  his  brow  and  the  reed  in  his  hand  as  a 
scepter,  and  then  bowed  their  knees  and  saluted  him,  "  Hail,  King 
of  the  Jews  !  "  Paul  was  the  object  of  many  sneers  and  mockeries 
because  of  his  preaching  '^ Jesus  the  crucified  one"  as  the  Son  of 
God.  Now  Nehemiah  and  his  brethren  came  in  for  a  share  of  de- 
rision. They  were  feeble  folk ;  they  had  fallen  very  low ;  and  the 
idea  of  restoring  Jerusalem  to  its  ancient  glory  was  indeed  a  most 
wild  dream  ;  and  yet  they  were  imdcrtaking  to  rebuild  that  splendid 
wall  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  thrown  down.  How  would  they  ac- 
complish it?  Wliat  means  had  they  ?  Wliere  would  they  get  work- 
men, and  who  would  pay  them?  So  reasoned  Sanballat  and  Tobiah. 
Wroth  as  they  were  at  the  idea  of  their  rebuilding  the  walls,  they 
were  yet  persuaded  that  their  efforts  would  end  in  miserable  failure  ; 
and  so  they  scoffed  at  them  openly  and  in  presence  of  the  armies  of 
Samaria.  "  What  do  these  feeble  Jews  ?  Will  they  fortify  them- 
selves? Will  they  sacrifice?  Will  they  build  the  walls  again  out  of 
the  calcined  rocks  lying  in  heaps  where  they  were  burned  with 
fire?"  The  idea  was  ridiculous.  Then  came  on  Tobiah  and  added 
his  sneer.  '^  Why,"  he  said,  'Uet  them  build.  What  can  they  do? 
Any  wall  these  feeble  Jews  can  build  would  be  so  poor  and  frail 
that  a  jackal  running  over  it  would  knock  it  down." 

1.  The  contempt  of  the  world. — Nehemiah  was  neither  the 
first  nor  the  last  of  the  servants  of  God  who  have  had  to  bear  the 
reproach  of  Christ  and  suffer  the  scorn  of  the  world.  From  the  time 
of  Moses,  "  who  esteemed  the  reproach  of  Christ  gi-eater  riches  than 
the  treasures  of  Egypt,"  until  to-day,  when  the  world  is  still  sneer- 
ing at  the  pretensions  of  Christianity,  God's  people  have  been  under 
this  kind  of  fire.  If  we  look  closely  into  the  matter  it  is  not  difficult 
to  see  why  the  world  sneers  at  us.  (i)  The  task  of  bringing  the 
world  to  the  feet  of  Christ  seems  so  utterly  preposterous  that  it  only 
provokes  a  contemptuous  smile.  I  have  seen  the  lips  of  men  and 
women  curl  with  derision  out  here  (in  India)  when  I  have  spoken 
of  the  hopeful  prospects  of  the  ultimate  triumphs  of  Christianity, 
(ii)  The  comparative  fewness  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  work. 


A  TRIAL   OF   CRUEL   MOCKING.  65 

It  is  quite  true  that,  as  compared  with  the  vast  unconverted  multi- 
tude of  the  world,  the  company  of  Christians  are  few,  and  not  only 
few  but  poor.  There  are  ^'not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble" 
among  our  ranks.  The  world  boasts  its  great  men,  kings,  governors, 
captains,  great  scientists,  authors  and  influential  editors,  lawyers 
and  medical  men,  many  of  whom  are  on  the  side  of  unbelief ;  and 
then  they  look  over  our  camp,  and  finding,  as  they  suppose,  so  few  of 
this  sort,  they  regard  it  as  supremely  foolish  and  utterly  preposter- 
ous (not  to  say  highly  impertinent)  that  we  should  undertake  to  go 
on  with  the  absurd  idea  that  that  Gospel  of  Christ  will  ultimately 
prevail,  (iii)  Then  we  must  also  take  into  account  their  ignorance 
of  the  secret  resources  of  the  Christian.  Possibly  Sanballat  did  not 
know  how  well  fortified  Nehemiah  was  with  the  king's  warrant,  how 
abundantly  supplied  he  was  with  the  grant  of  material  from  the 
king's  forests ;  nor  did  he  understand  how  powerful  even  a  few  peo- 
ple are  when  animated  by  a  great  enthusiasm,  especially  when  they 
are  united  and  well  appointed,  as  was  the  force  of  Jews  under 
Nehemiah.  They  also  leave  out  of  account  entirely  the  "  God  of 
heaven."  The  Christian  has  a  power  which  the  world  knows  not  of, 
and  resources  which  are  not  displayed  in  the  open  markets  of  the 
world.  Let  the  *' heathen  rage  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing, 
and  the  kings  of  the[earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together,  against  the  Lord  and  his  Anointed.  He  that  sitteth  in  the 
heavens  shall  laugh,"  for  he  has  published  his  decree,  and  his  only- 
begotten  Son  shall  yet  be  placed  in  triumph  upon  the  holy  hill  of 
Zion.  (iv)  The  probable  cause  lying  behind  all  others  for  the  world- 
mockery  of  Christ  and  Christianity  is  their  own  alienation  from  God. 
They  hate  God  and  holiness,  and  do  not  wish  to  be  brought  under 
the  power  of  the  Gospel ;  especially  they  do  not  wish  it  to  be  true, 
and  so  they  seek  to  persuade  themselves  that  everything  done  in 
the  name  of  Christ  must  be  a  failure. 

2.  How  to  meet  the  scoffs  of  the  world. — It  is  very  evident 
that  Nehemiah  felt  keenly  and  bitterly  the  scoffs  and  jeers  of  San- 
ballat and  his  companions,  and  that  the  people  were  more  or  less 
affected  by  them — as  indeed  who  would  not  be  ?  Outwardly  they 
were  "a  feeble  folk,"  and  their  enterprise  did  seem  rather  a  hope- 
less one,  especially  to  unbelieving  eyes ;  and  no  one  enjoys  being 
made  to  appear  ridiculous  to  others.  Yet  did  Nehemiah  stick  fast 
to  his  purpose  and  his  work.  To  shield  himself  from  the  scoffs  of 
the  Samaritans  and  the  others  he  had  recourse  to  two  things: 
(i)  Prayer.  "  Hear,  O  our  God  :  for  we  are  despised  :  .  .  .  for  they 
have    provoked   thee    to   anger  before  the   builders."     (iv,   4,   5.) 


C6  REBUILDING   THE   WALL. 

We  cannot  commend  the  spirit  of  the  -whole  prayer  of  Nehcmiah, 
which  reveals  at  once  his  piety  and  fierceness,  and  even  vindictive- 
ness.  He  prayed  that  his  enemies  might  be  destroyed,  disgraced, 
and  die  unforgiven  for  their  sins.  Yet  we  must  remember  two 
things :  The  Gospel  of  Christ  with  its  higher  law  of  love  had  not 
been  fully  revealed  at  that  time ;  and  besides,  Nehemiah  did  not 
so  much  pray  this  prayer  of  destruction  upon  his  enemies  for  his 
owTQ  sake.  They  were  smarting  under  the  scorn  of  these  men,  it  is 
true,  but  Nehemiah  felt  the  indignity  of  it  all  more  on  God's  account 
than  on  his  own,  for  "  God  was  despised  "  by  these  "  enemies."  Nev- 
ertheless, his  refuge  was  the  true  one.  Instead  of  hurling  back  their 
insults  upon  themselves,  he  poured  out  his  heart  to  God.  This  also 
is  our  resource  still, — sprayer  to  God  that  our  enemies  may  be  dis- 
appointed in  seeing  the  work  prosper,  and  that  they  may  be  con- 
verted and  changed  into  helpers  instead  of  being  hinderers.  But  in 
any  event,  "God  is  our  refuge  in  every  time  of  need."  (ii)  The  next 
answer  which  Nehemiah  made  to  his  enemies  was  by  patiently  and 
bravely  continuing  the  work.  Notliing  would  tempt  him  to  cease 
from  the  work.  "  So  build  we  tlie  wall :  and  all  the  wall  was 
joined  together  unto  the  half  thereof."  The  breaches  were  all  filled 
up,  and  the  several  parts  (under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the 
several  parties  of  builders)  were  joined,  and  the  whole  wall  had 
reached  the  half  of  its  height.  The  result  thus  accomplished  was 
due  to  the  fact  "that  the  people  had  a  mind  to  the  work."  In  this 
mind  they  were  united  in  their  purpose  and  in  their  plans ;  they 
were  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  each  other ;  there  were  no  jeal- 
ousies and  contentions  among  them ;  they  implicitly  trusted  and 
obeyed  their  great  leader;  and  all,  no  doubt,  were  filled  with  an 
enthusiasm  from  on  high,  and  so  wrought  under  the  eyes  of  God. 
Whenever  we  shall  be  able  to  push  forward  the  Avork  of  Christ  in 
this  world  with  the  same  union  of  purpose,  plan,  and  sympathy,  we 
shall  be  able  utterly  to  despise  the  mockeries  of  the  world.  We, 
alas,  ourselves  too  often  give  cause  to  the  world  to  scorn  us ! 

II.— A   FORMIDABLE   CONSPIRACY. 

The  rapid  and  substantial  progress  of  the  work  upon  the  walls  had 
turned  the  mockery  of  Sanballat  and  Tobiah  against  themselves. 
The  work  was  actually  going  on  ;  while  they  were  jeering,  the  Jews 
were  working,  and  before  they  were  aware  of  it  the  wall  was  joined 
all  around  the  city  and  half-way  up.  This  made  these  enemies  very 
wroth  indeed,  and  showed  them  that  they  could -not  laugh  down  this 


A  FORMIDABLE  CONSPIRACY.  67 

work  of  God.  The  world  has  found  this  out  ah-eady,  and  is  destined 
to  find  it  out  yet  many  more  times.  But  these  enemies  were  deter- 
mined to  hinder  and  stop  this  work  of  God.  To  this  end  Sanballat 
(who  was  governor  of  Samaria)  gathered  the  neighboring  petty 
princes  and  dependent  satraps  together,  and  made  a  conspiracy 
with  them  to  make  a  strong  force  against  the  Jews,  and  by  force 
to  stop  their  work  by  actually  slaying  the  people,  (iv,  11.)  They 
proposed  that  their  attack  should  be  in  the  nature  of  a  surprise, 
rushing  upon  them  unawares.  Persecution  has  always  followed  ridi- 
cule in  the  history  of  the  conflict  of  Christianity  with  the  unbelief 
of  the  world.  First  the  apostles  were  derided  as  "  ignorant  and  un- 
learned men,"  and  then  they  were  beaten,  imprisoned,  and  put  to 
death.  The  spirit  of  the  world  has  not  changed,  though  it  has  lost 
its  power  largely  to  continue  its  persecutions  ;  nevertheless  we  see 
this  spirit  at  work  in  active  persecution  in  some  of  the  heathen 
countries.  Here  in  India,  when  opportunity  affords,  in  Africa,  and 
notably  in  China,  the  Christians  suffer  not  only  ridicule,  but  are  fre- 
quently attacked  with  physical  violence  in  order  to  hinder  their 
work. 

1.  Nehemiah's  defense. — Against  this  new  combination  Ne- 
hemiah  showed  himself  an  alert  and  good  general.  The  obscure 
twelfth  verse  seems  to  mean  that  certain  Jews  who  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Samaritans,  and  who  had  become  conversant  with 
their  hostile  plans,  had  brought  Nehemiah  information.  With  this 
news  he  began  to  prepare  for  defense,  and  their  defense  consisted 
of  two  things  :  (i)  Prayer.  "Nevertheless  we  made  our  prayer  unto 
our  God."  This  was  the  old  resource,  and  it  is  the  one  that  never 
fails.  It  was  the  first  resource.  Would  that  we  of  this  day  could 
understand  the  supreme  importance  of  prayer  and  the  exceeding 
strength  of  it !  Not  only  did  Nehemiah  pray,  but  he  had  infected  all 
the  people  with  his  spirit  of  prayer.  "We  made  our  prayer."  (ii) 
*'And  set  a  watch."  We  may  count  on  supernatural  aid  in  our  de- 
fense, and  to  help  us  forward  in  our  work,  but  this  does  not  excuse 
us  from  using  every  means  in  our  own  power  both  to  defend  our- 
selves and  to  push  forward  the  work.  So  Nehemiah  prayed,  and 
set  a  icatcli !  That  is,  he  appointed  pickets  to  give  warning  of  the 
approach  of  the  enemy,  that  they  might  at  any  moment  be  ready  to 
repel  an  attack.  Our  Saviour  has  bidden  us  both  to  watch  and  pray 
against  the  sudden  assaults  of  temptation,  which  are  liable  to  come 
upon  us  at  any  moment. 

2.  The  work  interrupted. — This  new  movement  of  the  enemy 
for  the  time  being  interrupted  the  work.     The  withdrawal  of  so 


68  REBUILDING   THE   WALL. 

many  men  from  the  walls  to  act  as  guards  pickets,  and  soldiers  left 
the  workmen  too  weak-handed  to  go  on ;  at  least,  so  reported  Judah 
to  Nehemiah.  Sometimes  this  is  the  case,  but  God's  work  is  going 
on  even  when  the  workmen  cease  to  build.  It  was  a  part  of  the  work 
to  defend  that  which  had  already  been  accomplished  from  the  de- 
stroying hand  of  the  enemy.  I  saw  yesterday  the  walls  of  a  great 
church  in  this  city  of  Eangoon,  upon  which  no  work  had  been  done 
for  several  years,  and  yet  the  work  has  not  ceased,  for  the  people 
have  been  in  the  meantime  busy  gathering  money  with  which  to 
complete  it.  Our  changed  circumstances  often  seem  to  hinder  our 
work,  when  in  fact  they  are  hastening  it,  even  when  the  direct  work 
seems  to  come  to  a  stop. 

3.  The  defense  and  the  exhortation. — Nehemiah  showed 
himself  a  good  general.  There  is  often  talent  in  God's  people  which 
is  suddenly  developed  as  circumstances  may  require.  Who  would 
have  thought  that  this  quiet  cupbearer  to  the  king  of  Persia  would 
have  been  so  sturdy  and  alert  a  workman  and  military  commander? 
Nehemiah  disposed  of  his  extemporized  army  wisely.  The  lower 
places  (that  is,  those  places  where  the  natural  configuration  of  the 
ground  made  the  wall  seem  lower  and  more  likely  exposed  to  attack) 
he  manned  with  a  guard,  and  on  more  conspicuous  places  he  also  set 
men  armed  with  swords,  spears,  and  bows.  This  was  a  device  to 
show  the  enemy  that  they  were  fully  prepared  for  their  intended 
assault,  and  also  to  give  notice  that  their  secret  conspiracy  was 
known  to  them.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  Christian  is  not 
to  use  all  the  tactful  resources  of  the  mind  to  carry  on  God's  work. 
Piety  and  good  generalship  go  well  together.  Many  a  good  enter- 
prise has  come  to  grief  because  God's  people  seemed  to  proceed  on 
the  assumption  that  religious  and  spiritual  work  did  not  require 
earthly  care  and  talent  to  guide  it.  We  often  put  good  men  on  our 
boards  and  committees  who  have  no  tact  or  practical  business  qual- 
ification, assuming  that  because  they  are  good  they  are  wise.  Let 
us  take  a  leaf  out  of  this  Book  of  Nehemiah.  See  again  how  wise 
he  was.  He  disposed  his  forces  by  families,  as  he  had  done  in  the 
work,  and  placed  certain  families  together  on  the  walls  (or  behind 
them)  nearest  to  their  own  homes,  where  their  wives  and  children 
were,  and  thus  making  them  guards  of  their  own  households.  They 
would  fight  better  in  proximity  to  their  loved  ones  than  elsewhere. 
Then  he  made  them  a  stirring  address,  which  was  calculated  to  rouse 
both  enthusiasm  and  courage.  "Be  not  ye  afraid  of  them :  remem- 
ber the  Lord,  which  is  great  and  terrible,  and  fight  for  your  breth- 
ren, your  sons,  and  your  daughters,  yom*  wives,  and  your  houses." 


PERMANENT   PRECAUTIONS.  69 

Here  are  stirring  and  sensible  words.  In  the  present  conflict  with 
modern  unbelief,  we  need  to  take  courage  and  remember  our  God, 
and  fight.  Yea,  we  too  are  fighting  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for 
our  children,  and  all  that  are  dear  to  ourselves.  If  an  age  of  infi- 
delity were  to  supervene  now  upon  us,  alas  for  our  sons  and  our 
daughters  !  Besides  this  our  defense  of  Christianity  against  the  at- 
tacks, secret  and  open,  of  all  manner  of  enemies  is  a  fight  for  all — 
for  our  enemies  as  well  as  for  our  friends. 

4.  The  work  resumed. — God  had  disappointed  the  devices  of 
the  crafty,  so  that  their  hands  could  not  perform  their  enterprise. 
(Job  V,  12.)  Sanballat  and  his  friends,  finding  that  their  plans  were 
known,  and  that  the  Jews  were  prepared  to  fight  as  well  as  to  work, 
decided  not  to  make  the  assault,  so  nothing  came  of  it.  A  bold  and 
confident  front  to  the  enemy,  having  made  our  prayer  to  God,  is 
often  a  victory  gained.  So  "  we  returned  all  of  us  to  the  wall,  every 
one  unto  his  work."  This  was  noble  persistence  in  a  good  purpose. 
The  momentary  withdrawal  from  the  worlc  to  fight  the  Lord's  battles 
had  neither  changed  their  purpose  nor  damped  their  ardor  for  the 
building  of  the  wall.  And  they  were  all  at  it  again  with  a  will  as 
soon  as  the  present  danger  was  past. 

III.— PERMANENT  PRECAUTIONS. 

That  which  some  emergency  calls  forth  often  becomes  a  per- 
manent part  of  our  work,  and  in  this  case  it  was  so.  It  was  true 
that  the  immediate  assault  of  the  enemy  had  been  postponed ;  but 
he  might  again  come  upon  them,  or  other  foes  might  arise,  so  Nehe- 
miah  decided  to  arrange  for  a  permanent  guard.  From  that  time 
he  divided  his  force  of  personal  servants  into  two,  placing  weapons 
in  the  hands  of  half  of  them  and  instruments  of  labor  in  the  hands 
of  the  other  half,  while  the  voluntary  workmen  (the  bearers  of  bur- 
dens and  the  actual  masons)  wrought  with  a  sword  in  one  hand  and 
a  trowel  in  the  other — or,  at  least,  each  of  these  workmen  had  a 
sword  girded  at  his  side,  so  that  he  was  ready  in  a  moment  to  lay 
down  the  trowel  and  take  up  the  sword.  This  is  as  it  should  be  with 
us  all,  ready  for  work  or  for  war  as  the  case  may  require.  God  has 
need  of  soldiers  as  well  as  of  workmen,  and  it  is  well  that  every 
workman  should  also  study  the  arts  of  the  soldier,  and  vice  versa. 

1.  The  sounding  of  the  trumpet. — "And  he  that  sounded  the 
trumpet  was  by  me."  Nehemiah  was  not  confined  to  one  place  on 
the  wall,  but  went  the  rounds,  both  overseeing  the  work  and  keep- 
ing a  constant  lookout  for  the  enemy.     The  working  parties  were 


70  EEBUILDING  THE  WALL. 

scattered  at  long  distances  from  each  other,  so  that  Nehemiah 
arranged  that  whenever  the  bugle  sounded  all  parties  should  resort 
at  once  to  that  spot  as  being  the  place  of  danger  and  attack.  What 
a  grand  suggestion  of  wording  together  is  this !  When  the  bugle 
sounds  either  for  an  advance  or  to  repel  an  attack  from  one  part  of 
God's  Church,  how  inspiriting  to  see  all  other  sections  or  sects  going 
to  the  help  of  the  party  in  danger,  or  moving  forward !  Thus  should 
one  part  of  the  Church  help  the  other  in  all  forward  movements,  or 
to  repel  all  attacks  on  the  faith  and  to  resist  the  enemy,  however 
and  wherever  he  may  assault  us. 

2.  Nehemiah  continued  his  vigilance  to  the  end. — The  half 
of  the  people  were  detailed  as  soldiers  and  "  kept  watch  from  the 
morning  light  till  the  stars  appeared."  The  people  were  called  in 
from  the  surrounding  country  to  lodge  in  Jerusalem  for  safety  (and 
for  service,  if  required),  as  well  as  to  act  as  a  guard  by  night  and  to 
labor  on  the  walls  by  day.  Nehemiah  was  not  behind  the  foremost 
in  taking  his  share  of  the  work  and  toil.  "  So  neither  I,  nor  my 
brethren,  nor  my  servants,  nor  the  men  of  the  guard  which  followed 
me,  none  of  us  put  off  our  clothes,  saving  that  every  one  put  them 
off  for  washing."     That  is,  they  slept  in  their  clothes. 


IX. 

READING   THE    LAW.— Nehemiah  viii,    1-12. 

(1)  And  all  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the 
street  that  was  before  the  water  gate ;  and  they  spake  unto  Ezra  the  scribe 
to  bring  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord  had  commanded  to 
Israel.  (2)  And  Ezra  the  priest  brought  the  law  before  the  congregation 
both  of  men  and  women,  and  all  that  could  hear  with  understanding,  upon 
the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month.  <3)  And  he  read  therein  before  the 
street  that  was  before  the  water  gate  from  the  morning  until  midday,  be- 
fore the  men  and  the  women,  and  those  that  could  understand;  and  the 
ears  of  all  the  people  were  attentive  unto  the  book  of  the  law.  (4)  And  Ezra 
the  scribe  stood  upon  a  pulpit  of  wood,  which  they  had  made  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  and  beside  him  stood  Mattithiah,  and  Shema,  and  Anaiah,  and  Uri- 
jah,  and  Hilkiah,  and  Maaseiah,  on  his  right  hand ;  and  on  his  left  hand, 
Pedaiah,  and  Mishael,  and  Malchiah,  and  Hashum,  and  Hashbadana, 
Zechariah,  and  Meshullam.  (5)  And  Ezra  opened  the  book  in  the  sight  of 
all  the  people ;  (for  he  was  above  all  the  people ;)  and  when  he  opened  it,  all 
the  people  stood  up :  (6)  And  Ezi-a  blessed  the  Lord,  the  great  God.  And 
all  the  people  answered,  Amen,  Amen,  with  lifting  up  their  hands:  and 
they  bowed  their  heads,  and  worshipped  the  Lord  with  their  faces  to  the 
ground.  (7)  Also  Jeshua,  and  Bani,  and  Sherebiah,  Jamin,  Akkub,  Shab- 
bethai,  Hodijah,  Maaseiah,  Kelita,  Azariah,  Jozabad,  Hanan,  Pelaiah,  and 
the  Levites,  caused  the  people  to  understand  the  law :  and  the  people  stood 
in  their  place.  (8)  So  they  read  in  the  book  in  the  law  of  God  distinctly, 
and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them  to  understand  the  reading.  (9)  And 
Nehemiah,  which  is  the  Tirshatha,  and  Ezra  the  priest  the  scribe,  and  the 
Levites  that  taught  the  people,  said  unto  all  the  people.  This  day  is  holy 
unto  the  Lord  your  God ;  mourn  not,  nor  weep.  For  all  the  people  wept, . 
when  they  heard  the  words  of  the  law.  (10)  Then  he  said  unto  them.  Go 
your  way,  eat  the  fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  portions  unto  them 
for  whom  nothing  is  prepared :  for  this  day  is  holy  unto  our  Lord :  neither 
be  ye  son-y ;  for  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength.  (11)  So  the  Levites 
stilled  all  the  people,  saying.  Hold  your  peace,  for  the  day  is  holy ;  neither 
be  ye  grieved.  (13)  And  all  the  people  went  their  way  to  eat,  and  to  drink, 
and  to  send  portions,  and  to  make  great  mirth,  because  they  had  understood 
the  words  that  were  declared  unto  them. —Nehemiah  viii,  1-13. 

It  is  generally  agreed  among  scholars  that  this  chapter,  together 
with  the  next  two,  was  not  written  by  Nehemiah  himself,  but  by 
some  unknown  author,  whose  work,  however,  was  approved  by  Ne- 
hemiah and  placed  by  him  in  the  book  which  bears  his  name,  as  cov- 
ering an  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Jews  during  the  time  in  which 
he  was  governor  of  Jerusalem.  The  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  chap- 
ters give  us  an  account  of  the  finishing  of  the  walls  and  the  comple- 


72  READING   THE  LAW. 

tion  of  the  rest  of  the  work  (respecting  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem) 
to  a  siiecossful  state  of  order  and  defense,  araidst  all  the  difficulties 
caused  by  enemies  from  without  and  false  friends  and  traitors  from 
within.  The  fifth  chapter  especially  gives  us  a  graphic  account  of 
some  stern  and  vigorous  reforms  carried  out  by  Nehemiah  in  respect 
to  the  oppressive  usury  and  grasping  greed  practiced  by  the  rich 
upon  the  poor,  and  also  the  corruptions  growing  out  of  mixed  mar- 
riages. In  this  work  Nehemiah  shows  himself  to  have  been  a  man 
with  a  tender  conscience,  a  righteous  spirit,  and  a  strong  and  fear- 
less hand.  The  people  were  brought  to  their  better  senses  under 
his  administration,  and  so  far  the  honor  of  God  and  the  rights  of  the 
people  were  restored  in  Jerusalem.  He  next  (vii)  revived  the  gene- 
alogical purity  of  the  people,  in  order  to  secure  them  against  min- 
gling with  the  heathen,  and  forbade  any  man  taking  his  place  in  the 
families  of  Israel  unless  he  could  show  his  regular  descent.  This 
may  be  taken  as  a  practical  lesson  as  to  maintaining  the  purity  of 
the  Church,  and  limiting  its  membership  to  those  who  can  show  a 
spiritual  character.  Mixture  in  Israel  was  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  the  overthrow,  through  corruption  of  the  nation ;  and  the  min- 
gling of  unconverted  members  in  the  Church  with  those  who  have 
been  truly  born  of  the  Spirit  has  ever  been  one  of  the  fruitful  causes 
of  Church  weakness  and  disaster.  The  Church  of  Christ  should 'be 
composed  only  of  those  who  have  first  been  separated  to  God  by  the 
Spirit  and  then  separated  from  the  world  by  a  thorough  consecra- 
tion. (Rom.  xii,  1;  II.  Cor.  vi,  14-18.)  These  conditions  are  too 
lightly  regarded,  even  in  our  day,  when,  as  we  thankfully  believe,  the 
light  of  spiritual  truth  is  shining  more  brightly  in  the  Church  than 
ever  before. 

I.— A  GREAT  AWAKENING. 

It  was  the  seventh  month  of  the  Jewish  year  (vii,  73),  and  the 
seventh  month  was  the  beginning  of  the  civil  year,  and  the  feast  of 
trumpets.  It  was  also  the  anniversary  of  the  restoration  of  the  altar 
(Ezra  iii,  1-3),  and  so  a  day  both  important  and  memorable.  In 
fact,  it  was  the  Jewish  New  Year's  day,  the  day  of  "  Gospel  proc- 
lamation" (Lev.  xxiii,  24),  a  day  of  new  beginnings,  and  of  uni- 
versal joy  and  gladness.  The  great  gathering  of  the  people  out  of 
their  cities  to  Jerusalem  was  most  appropriate.  Another  event  of 
general  interest  had  occurred.  Ezra  (who  seems  to  have  been  away 
from  Jerusalem  during  the  building  of  the  walls  under  Nehemiah) 
had  returned.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  his  presence  there  since 
Nehemiah  had  come,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  he  had  but  just 


A  GREAT   AWAKENING.  73 

returned,  and  his  coming  was  hailed  with  great  gladness  by  the 
people,  by  whom  he  was  greatly  loved  and  respected.  It  is  remark- 
able that  this  awakening  among  the  people  was  a  movement  from 
among  themselves.  That  is,  they  took  the  initiative  in  the  matter 
of  having  the  law  read  to  them  afresh  by  Ezra,  and  those  who  were 
associated  with  him,  though  no  doubt  Ezra's  return  and  his  well- 
known  devotion  to  the  law  had  suggested  this  movement  to  them. 
It  was  as  though  Mr.  Moody  had  returned  to  Chicago  after  a  long 
absence,  and  his  presence  in  the  city  becoming  known,  the  people 
would  by  common  consent  seek  him  out  and  request  him  to  hold  a 
series  of  revival  meetings  among  them.  It  was  both  a  natural  and 
commendable  movement  on  their  part,  and  betokened  only  good  to 
them  and  to  the  nation.  Thus  the  people  used  to  resort  to  Jesus 
and  ask  him  to  preach  to  them.  What  a  great  privilege  it  is  to  be 
such  a  teacher  and  preacher  of  the  Word  that  the  people  themselves 
desire  to  be  taught  by  him.  Some  preachers  have  difficulty  in  get- 
ting hearers  to  come  to  them,  but  Ezra  was  one  of  those  whom  the 
people  so  delighted  to  hear  that  they  sought  him  out  rather  than 
waiting  to  be  sought  out  by  him. 

1.  The  gathering  of  the  people. — They  had  come  up  to  the 
city  for  the  New  Year's  feast — men  with  their  wives,  sons,  and 
daughters,  both  old  and  young.  Hearing  of  Ezra's  presence  in  the 
city,  they  flocked  to  the  water  gate  in  a  great  mass,  filling  up  all 
the  street.  The  assembly  was  composed  of  men  and  women,  and 
all  ''that  could  understand,"  by  which  is  meant  those  of  the  children 
who  were  old  enough  to  hear  the  Word  with  profit.  It  is  always  a 
glad  sight  to  see  children  with  their  parents  in  the  congregation 
where  the  Word  of  God  is  preached ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a 
sure  sign  of  the  decay  of  spiritual  life  when  the  older  children  of  the 
families  are  absent  from  the  house  of  God.  From  the  beginning  God 
had  ordained  that  the  children  should  be  instructed  in  the  law. 
"Gather  me  the  people  together,  and  I  will  make  them  hear  my 
words,  that  they  may  learn  to  fear  me  all  the  days  that  they  shall 
live  upon  the  earth,  and  that  they  may  teach  their  children."  "And 
ye  shall  teach  them  your  children,  speaking  of  them  when  thou  sit- 
test  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  when  thou 
liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up."  (Dent,  iv,  10;  xi,  19.) 
Household  or  family  instruction  ought  never  to  be  overlooked  or 
neglected,  and  the  training  that  in  our  days  is  furnished  by  means 
of  the  Sunday-schools  ought  also  to  be  valued  by  all  parents  and 
children ;  but  even  these  two  great  methods  of  teaching  children 
cannot  and  ought  not  to  take  the  place  entirely  of  the  public  preach- 


74  READING   THE  LAW. 

ing  of  the  Word  of  God  in  the  congregation.  Another  remarkable 
feature  of  this  great  assembly  was  that  the  people  were  moved  as  by 
a  common  impulse.  They  ''gathered  themselves  together  as  one 
man."  This  is  always  a  sign  of  a  spiritual  awakening.  A  straggling 
congregation  tells  of  low  spiritual  life,  but  a  voluntary  coming  to- 
gether of  the  whole  people  *'as  one  man"  is  a  sure  sign  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  upon  them.  WTien  the  Holy  Ghost  was  poured  out 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "the  multitude  came  together."  If  we 
want  large  congregations  and  spiritual  results,  let  us  pray  for  an 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  then  will  the  people  assemble 
and  ask  that  the  Word  of  God  be  preached  to  them. 

2.  The  reading  of  the  law. — "And  Ezra  the  priest  brought 
the  law  before  the  congregation."  Here  is  a  great  preacher  armed 
with  his  proper  instrument  for  the  doing  of  God's  work.  He  did  not 
come  to  give  to  the  people  the  result  of  his  own  thoughts.  He  was 
not  one  of  those  modern  preachers  whose  boast  it  is  that  they  keep 
abreast  with  the  age  and  "with  modern  thought."  He  was  content 
to  bring  out  God's  Word  and  read  it  to  the  people.  He  had  ''pre- 
pared his  heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it,  and  to  teach 
in  Israel  statutes  and  judgments."  (Ezra  vii,  10.)  He  did  not  shut 
up  the  book  and  tell  the  people  they  were  not  able  to  understand  it, 
but  he  opened  it  before  them.  The  Bible  is  God's  gift  to  the  people, 
and  not  the  peculiar  property  of  the  preachers.  Neither  was  he  one 
of  those  preachers  who  used  the  Bible  as  a  mere  book  of  texts.  He 
was  a  devout  and  profound  student  of  it ;  and  not  only  so,  but  a 
doer  of  it.  It  is  only  when  a  preacher  himself  prepares  his  heart  to 
seek  the  law  of  the  Lord  and  himself  keeps  the  law  (that  is,  regu- 
lates his  life  by  its  precepts)  that  he  is  qualified  to  teach  it  to  others. 
Such  a  preacher  will  never  lack  for  hearers.  The  power  of  brilliant 
oratory  is  nothing  as  compared  with  a  holy,  humble,  godly  life, 
which  sheds  forth  the  aroma  of  God's  Word  in  all  that  he  does.  We 
have  here  mention  of  a  pulpit  which  had  been  erected  for  the  better  ■ 
convenience  of  the  preacher,  enabling  him  to  reach  with  his  voice 
the  vast  concourse  of  people  gathered  about  him.  It  was  in  Ezra's 
day  that  preaching  first  became,  as  it  were,  an  institution,  and  per- 
haps it  was  his  example  which  led  in  later  times  to  the  building  of 
synagogues,  for  the  convenience  of  the  people  in  their  own  towns  and 
cities.  Nor  was  he  content  simply  to  take  a  text,  but  he  read  great 
portions  of  the  Scriptures,  history,  prophecy,  law,  and  Psalms.  He 
read  the  book  to  them  "from  morning  until  midday,  before  the  men 
and  the  women,  and  those  that  could  understand."  This  was  a  long 
period  of  time  to  keep  the  people ;  but  then  the  days  of  the  "  fifteen 


A   GREAT   AWAKENING.  75 

minutes'  sermon"  had  not  come  in,  and  the  people  did  not  grudge  a 
little  time  to  the  hearing  of  the  Word  of  God.  Dr.  Parks  was  once 
preaching  in  Boston,  and  because  his  sermon  was  long  he  omitted 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  saying  that,  owing  to  the  length  of  his 
sermon,  he  would  leave  out  the  reading  lessons  from  the  Bible.  At 
the  close  of  the  sermon  a  blunt  old  deacon  said  to  him :  "  Dr.  Parks, 
the  next  time  you  preach  to  us,  if  you  find  the  time  too  short  please 
omit  some  of  your  own  stuff  and  let  us  have  our  portion  of  God's 
Word."  This,  no  doubt,  was  good  advice.  I  have  often  thought 
that  perhaps  a  well-chosen  selection  of  God's  Word  read  to  the  con- 
gregation for  the  space  of  an  hour  would  prove  more  interesting  to 
them  and  no  doubt  more  profitable  than  our  own  sermons.  It  might 
be  worth  while  to  try.  Who  will  have  the  courage  to  make  the  ex- 
periment ? 

3.  The  attitude  of  the  people. — Standing  on  the  raised  pulpit 
above  the  people,  "Ezra  opened  the  book."  "And  when  he  opened 
the  book,  all  the  people  stood  up."  This  was  a  mark  of  profound 
reverence  for  God's  Word.  It  was  not  idolatry  of  the  book  (as  some 
have  suggested),  but  reverence  for  God.  This  was  God's  Word,  and 
he  was  about  to  speak  to  them,  and  so  they  stood  up  in  token  of 
their  reverence  and  readiness  to  hear;  just  as  it  is  the  common 
habit  with  many  to  rise  when  public  prayer  is  being  made.  It  is 
not  probable  that  the  people  stood  during  all  those  six  hours,  but 
only  that  they  arose  when  the  book  was  first  opened  to  them,  as 
Eglon  rose  up  when  Ehud  stood  before  him  and  said,  "  I  have  a  mes- 
sage from  God  unto  thee."  (Judges  iii,  20.)  In  the  third  verse  we 
are  told  that  "  the  ears  of  all  the  people  were  attentive  unto  the  book 
of  the  law."  Literally  "were  unto  the  book  of  the  law."  Their 
attention  was  not  given  so  much  to  the  reader  as  it  was  to  the  book 
from  which  he  read.  It  was  God's  words  they  wished  to  hear,  and 
therefore  their  ears  were  fastened  to  the  book.  If  people  would  fol- 
low this  example  and  listen  to  God's  words  rather  than  to  the  preach- 
er's, they  would  get  more  benefit  from  preaching. 

4.  Prayer  with  the  reading. — ^We  have  first  an  account  of  the 
reading  of  the  law,  as  that  was  the  important  event  in  this  service, 
but  the  writer  tells  us  in  the  sixth  verse  that  Ezra  offered  a  public 
prayer  in  connection  with  that  service.  Whether  it  was  before  or 
after  the  reading  is  not  certain.  Possibly  having  read  the  Scriptures 
he  followed  it  with  prayer,  though  it  is  more  probable  that  the  prayer 
was  before.  "And  Ezra  blessed  the  Lord,  the  great  God."  For  a 
sample  of  prayer,  such,  perhaps,  as  the  one  offered  by  Ezra,  the  stu- 
dent is  referred  to  the  long  prayer  recorded  in  the  next  chapter.     It 


7G  READING   THE  LAW. 

was  perhaps  modeled  on  Ezra's  prayer  on  this  occasion.  In  this 
prayer  God's  goodness  and  mercy,  his  faithfulness  and  truth,  his 
power  and  righteousness,  were  recognized,  and  all  his  faithful  prom- 
ises pleaded.  The  effect  on  the  people  was  very  great.  They  all 
responded  at  the  close  with  a  loud  ''Amen,  Amen,"  and  ''lifted  up 
their  hands,  and  bowed  their  faces  to  the  ground."  This  all  indi- 
cated great  emotion  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The  repetition  of 
the  "Amen  "  is  a  sure  indication  of  the  deep  stirring  of  the  feelings. 
For  an  illustration  of  this  note  the  repetition  of  the  words  ' '  Treason  ! 
Treason ! "  uttered  by  Athaliah ;  and  the  shouts  of  the  excited 
and  maddened  people  wdio  cried  out  "Crucify  him  !  Crucify  him  !  " 
(II.  Kings  xi,  14 ;  Luke  xxiii,  21.)  They  cried  out,  "It  is  true  !  It  is 
true  !"  That  is,  all  that  Ezra  had  said  in  his  prayer  was  acknowl- 
edged to  be  true.  No  doubt  he  had  made  deep  and  touching  con- 
fession of  the  sins  of  the  people,  touching  their  consciences,  and 
bringing  them  low  before  God.  The  lifting  up  of  their  hands  was  a 
sign  both  of  submission  to  God  and  of  hope.  (For  the  use  of  this 
expressive  gesture,  see  Psalm  cxxxiv,  2;  I.  Tim.  ii,  8.)  It  means 
both  confession,  petition,  and  possibly  a  declaration  that  the  people 
so  lifting  up  their  hands  have  put  away  their  sins  and  now  come  be- 
fore God  with  clean  hands.  " The  hands  which  hang  down"  (Ileb. 
xii,  12;  Is.  xxxv,  3)  indicate  despair  or  utter  discouragement,  so 
that  the  person  whose  hands  hang  idly  at  his  sides  has  no  more  dis- 
position or  courage  to  pray.  The  bowing  of  their  heads  to  the 
ground  was  the  sign  of  profound  reverence  and  worship.  I  have 
seen  this  act  of  worship  many  hundreds  of  times  since  I  have  been 
in  these  oriental  countries,  and  it  is  very  impressive  even  when  done 
before  an  idol,  much  more  so  when  the  Musselman  thus  bows  his 
head  to  the  ground  in  his  act  of  worship  to  the  One  God. 

5.  Expository  preaching. — It  seems  that  there  was,  besides 
the  mere  reading  of  the  law,  a  translation  of  the  Hebrew  into  the 
more  common  speech  of  the  people,  by  means  of  which  the  people 
understood.  There  was  no  reading  of  the  Word  in  an  unknown 
tongue  as  the  Romanist  does.  The  object  was  that  the  people  might 
hear  it  in  their  own  tongue.  The  Word  was  slowly  and  distinctly 
read,  and  "the  sense  of  it  fairly  given"  and  explained.  Sometimes 
we  have  heard  the  Word  of  God  so  read  in  the  churches  that  both 
the  sense  and  meaning  were  confused,  and  the  hearing  of  it  was  a 
task  rather  than  a  pleasure.  Distinct  utterance,  clear  emphasis, 
and  simple  explanation  of  God's  Word  is  the  most  helpful  kind  of 
teaching.  Oftentimes  when  the  Scripture  does  not  seem  clear  to 
me,  I  read  it  aloud  to  myself,  speaking  the  words  clearly  and  dis- 


THE   JOY   OF   THE   LORD.  77 

tinctly.  In  this  way  I  get  a  far  better  idea  of  the  meaning  than  I 
can  by  merely  reading  it  with  my  eyes.  How  helpful,  therefore, 
must  be  the  clear  and  distinct  reading  of  the  Word  in  the  congrega- 
tion, and  how  careful  should  every  teacher  and  preacher  be  so  to 
render  God's  "Word  that  the  people  may  get  the  sense  of  it,  and  un- 
derstand the  law. 

6.  The  effect  of  the  preaching  of  the  "Word  upon  the  peo- 
ple.— ''The  people  mourned  and  wept,  when  they  heard  the  words 
of  the  law."  No  doubt  Ezra  had  read  to  them  not  only  the  law  in 
the  stricter  sense  of  that  word,  but  he  had  read  some  or  many  of 
those  passages  in  which  God  has  plainly  set  forth  what  will  be  the 
consequences  of  sin ;  and  also  the  record  of  the  sins  of  the  people 
as  recorded  in  the  prophets,  and  the  story  of  their  dispersion  and 
distress,  from  which  but  a  remnant  were  now  emerging,  and  that  in 
much  poverty  and  trouble.  In  this  reading  they  saw  themselves 
possibly  repeating  the  offenses  of  their  fathers.  When  (in  Josiah's 
reign)  the  long-lost  law  of  God  was  found,  and  read  in  his  hearing, 
he  "rent  his  clothes  " ;  for  he  said,  "  Great  is  the  wrath  of  the  Lord 
that  is  kindled  against  us,  because  our  fathers  have  not  hearkened 
unto  the  words  of  this  book,  to  do  according  unto  all  that  which  is 
written  concerning  us."  (II.  Kings  xxii,  11,  13.)  The  reading  of 
the  law  now  by  Ezra  and  his  associates  produced  some  such  effect 
upon  these  people.  In  the  light  of  that  law  they  saw  how  they  had 
contracted  guilt,  how  they  had  forfeited  good  and  incurred  evil ;  and 
their  hearts  were  smitten  with  fear  and  their  consciences  aroused 
because  of  sin.  The  Word  of  God  had  come  like  a  hammer  and 
broken  their  hearts ;  like  a  fire  and  melted  them ;  and  like  a  sword 
it  had  pierced  their  souls ;  and  in  true  oriental  fashion  they  gave 
themselves  up  to  passionate  expression  of  their  grief  and  contrition. 
No  doubt  also  in  the  course  of  the  reading  Ezra  had  shown  them 
how  rich  the  mercy  of  God  was,  and  that  he  was  ever  ready  to  for- 
give. This  great  love  also  touched  their  hearts,  and  caused  them 
the  more  to  mourn  their  deep  ingratitude  as  well  as  their  sins. 

II.— THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD. 

After  the  first  reading  of  the  words  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  (the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  leaders  of  the  people),  we  are  a  little  surprised 
when  they  bade  them  "mourn  not,  nor  weep."  Was  it  not  good  and 
proper  that  they  should  weep  and  mourn  because  of  their  sins  ?  Yes, 
certainly ;  but  there  is  a  time  to  weep,  and  there  is  a  time  to  rejoice. 
The  day  upon  which  all  this  occurred  was  a  specially  holy  day,  a 


78  BEADING   THE   LAW. 

day  in  which  forgiveness  was  peculiarly  preached.  They  had  sinned, 
but  now  the  Gospel  was  proclaimed,  and  they  ought  not  to  turn  a 
day  of  gladness  into  one  of  fruitless  sorrow.  It  is  meet  that  we 
should  weep  and  mourn  over  our  sins,  but  not  to  the  neglect  of  the 
frank  and  hearty  acceptance  of  the  forgiveness  of  them.  Sometimes 
people  make  a  merit  of  what  they  call  '^  repentance,"  and  go  on 
mourning  when  they  should  accept  forgiveness  and  begin  to  rejoice. 
God  has  appointed  to  them  that  truly  mourn  in  Zion  ''beauty  for 
ashes,  and  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of  praise  for 
the  spirit  of  heaviness."  (Is.  Ixi,  3.)  It  is  as  much  our  duty  to  be- 
lieve in  the  forgiveness  of  God  as  in  the  wrath  of  God.  If  we  truly 
repent,  God  promises  to  forgive  our  sins.  Let  us,  then,  accept  the 
comfort  that  is  appointed  "them  that  mourn,"  and  not  continue  in 
unbelieving  repcji tance. 

1.  Keeping  the  feast. — There  was  a  duty  in  hand  for  them  to 
do.  The  joyful  feast  was  to  be  kept.  This  was  God's  appointment. 
Let  them  therefore  testify  the  genuineness  of  their  repentance  by 
the  faithfulness  with  which  they  enter  into  this  holy  feast.  We  can 
serve  God  with  gladness  as  well  as  with  tears.  "Go  your  way,  eat 
the  fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  portions  unto  them  for  whom 
nothing  is  prepared."  Let  them  celebrate  God's  goodness  to  them 
and  not  forget  the  poor  in  the  midst  of  their  own  feasting.  A  real 
Christian  can  never  enter  into  thanksgiving  without  desiring  to  share 
God's  bounty  with  those  who  have  been  less  favored.  It  was  an  old 
ordinance  of  God  that  in  all  these  feasts  the  poor  should  be  special- 
ly and  liberally  provided  for.  (Deut.  xv,  7-11;  xvi,  11-15.)  This 
feature  of  the  feast  was  perpetuated  in  later  years  after  the  great  de- 
liverance wrought  among  the  Jews  in  the  days  of  Esther.  (Esther 
ix,  19,  22.)  There  is  yet  a  higher  lesson.  If  we  have  received  from 
the  Lord  the  greatest  of  all  blessings,  namely,  the  salvation  of  our 
souls,  let  us  rejoice  indeed  in  this  feast  of  fat  things,  but  let  us  ear- 
jiestly  seek  to  communicate  a  similar  blessing  to  those  who  have  not 
as  yet  received  it.  To  give  the  bread  of  life  to  a  sinner  is  better 
than  to  give  him  all  the  fat  of  the  land  and  all  its  sweets. 

2.  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength. — The  leaders  of  the 
people  reminded  them  that  their  strength  was  not  in  mourning  or  in 
repentance,  but  in  the  "joy  of  the  Lord."  Men  are  weak  when  they 
are  depressed  with  sorrow,  but  they  are  strong  when  they  are  filled 
with  joy.  What  is  this  joy  of  the  Lord  which  is  strength  to  us?  It 
is  joy  "in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  we 
have  now  received  the  reconciliation."  (Rom.  v,  11 ;  Ps.  cxlix,  2 ;  Is. 
xii,  2,  3;  xxxv,  1;  Ixi,  10;  Joel  ii,  23;  IL  Cor.  viii,  2;  Phil,  iv,  4.) 


THE  JOY   OF   THE   LORD.  79 

"We  are  not,  therefore,  to  abide  in  sorrow  nor  be  perpetually  in 
grief  over  our  sins,  since  God  has  forgiven  them ;  but  are  to  testify- 
to  his  grace  by  "rejoicing  in  God  our  salvation,"  and  thus  showing 
to  others  how  great  a  gladness  a  Christian  has.  The  mirthfulness 
which  is  here  enjoined  is  not  worldly  mirthfulness  but  Christian 
happiness.  The  world  needs  many  happy  Christians,  who  shall  be 
able  to  testify  to  those  who  only  have  the  empty  mirth  of  the  pass- 
ing pleasures  of  sin  and  this  world  how  much  better  it  is  to  rejoice 
in  God  than  in  "pleasure.''  Those  are  not  the  most  helpful  Chris- 
tians nor  the  truest  exponents  of  God's  salvation  who  go  about  with 
sad  countenances  and  long  faces,  as  though  there  was  nothing  but 
gloom  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

3.  "  They  understood  the  words  that  were  declared  unto 
them." — This  is  given  as  a  reason  why  they  finally  gave  themselves 
up  to  gladness.  At  first  they  had  understood  that  their  sins  had 
brought  upon  them  the  wrath  of  God,  but  not  that  God  was  also  full 
of  mercy  and  that  he  was  ready  to  forgive  them  and  did  so  abun- 
dantly. Only  last  night  I  was  talking  to  a  fine  young  soldier  of  the 
Queen  of  England  here  in  Rangoon.  He  had  come  forward  to  the 
penitent  form.  His  grief  was  very  great  because  of  his  sins,  but 
when  I  showed  him  the  truth  of  God's  forgiveness  he  burst  out  into 
happy  laughter  and  his  face  shone  again  with  a  new  joy.  That  was 
when  he  understood  and  accepted  the  Gospel. 


X. 

KEEPING    THE   SABBATH.— Nehemiah  xiii,   15-22. 

(15)  In  those  days  saw  I  in  Judah  some  treading  winepresses  on  the  sab- 
bath, and  bringing  in  sheaves,  and  lading  asses;  as  also  wine,  grapes,  and 
figs,  and  all  manner  of  burdens,  which  they  brought  into  Jerusalem  on  the 
sabbath  day:  and  I  testified  against  them  in  the  day  wherein  they  sold 
victuals.  (16)  There  dwelt  men  of  Tyre  also  therein,  which  brought  fish, 
and  all  manner  of  ware,  and  sold  on  the  sabbath  unto  the  children  of 
Judah,  and  in  Jerusalem.  (17)  Then  I  contended  with  the  nobles  of  Judah, 
and  said  unto  them.  What  evil  thing  is  this  that  ye  do,  and  profane  the 
sabbath  day?  (18)  Did  not  your  fathers  thus,  and  did  not  our  God  bring  aU 
this  evil  upon  us,  and  upon  this  city?  yet  ye  bring  more  wrath  upon  Israel 
by  profaning  the  sabbath.  (19)  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem  began  to  be  dark  before  the  sabbath,  I  commanded  that  the 
gates  should  be  shut,  and  charged  that  they  should  not  be  opened  till  after 
the  sabbath :  and  some  of  my  servants  set  I  at  the  gates,  that  there  should 
no  burden  be  brought  in  on  the  sabbath  day.  (20)  So  the  merchants  and 
sellers  of  all  kind  of  ware  lodged  without  Jerusalem  once  or  twice.  (31) 
Then  I  testified  against  them,  and  said  unto  them.  Why  lodge  ye  about  the 
wall?  if  ye  do  so  again,  I  will  lay  hands  on  you.  From  that  time  f -^^-th  came 
they  no  more  on  the  sabbath.  (22)  And  I  commanded  the  Levites,  that  they 
should  cleanse  themselves,  and  that  they  should  come  and  keep  the  gates, 
to  sanctify  the  sabbath  day.  Remember  me,  O  my  God,  concerning  this 
also,  and  spare  me  according  to  the  greatness  of  thy  mercy.— Nehemiah 
xiii,  15-22. 

There  can  be  no  dou"bt  of  the  authorship  of  this  chapter.  It  is 
as  plainly  recognizable  as  the  work  of  Nehemiah  as  is  the  face  of  an 
old  familiar  friend  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  strangers.  Here  we 
have  our  fiery,  impetuous,  bold,  brave,  pious,  impartial  governor 
back  again  from  the  capital  of  Artaxerxes,  taking  up  his  work  in 
Jerusalem  with  a  strong  hand;  putting  down  abuses,  contending 
with  nobles,  cleansing  the  Temple,  bundling  out  intruders,  threaten- 
ing to  arrest  offenders,  reviling  apostates  and  even  lifting  his  hand 
and  smiting  some  outrageous  sinners,  and  chasing  a  particular 
offender  from  his  presence,  (xiii,  11,  15,  17,  21,  25,  26,  27,  28.) 
Withal  we  see  him  tender-hearted  toward  God,  with  a  grieved  spirit, 
shooting  forth  his  ejaculatory  prayers  as  though  in  everything  ho  did 
he  felt  both  his  need  and  dependence  upon  God,  and  was  sensitive 


KEEPING  ^  THE   SABBATH.  81 

as  to  his  position  as  God's  servant,  and  conscious  of  his  own  sins 
and  need  of  mercy,  (vs.  14,  22,  29. )  It  is  impossible  not  to  admire 
and  love  this  energetic,  able,  and  devoted  hero-governor  of  Jeru- 
salem. Nor  do  we  wonder  that  his  nation,  after  long  years,  con- 
tinued to  reverence,  and  almost  to  worship,  his  memory.  Nehemiah 
was  probably  the  most  efficient  and  effective  reformer  that  ever  rose 
in  Judea.  He  finished  as  he  began,  never  slacking  his  hand,  and 
never  lapsing  into  ease  and  contentment.  He  was  always  jealous  of 
the  honor  of  God,  always  hated  sin,  yet  loved  the  sinful  people  in- 
tensely, and  never  thought  of  himself  except  in  respect  of  his  work 
for  God  and  for  others.  He  corrected  effectually  the  two  great 
abuses  which  he  found  in  Jerusalem  when  he  took  charge  of  the 
city's  affairs,  which  threatened  both  the  material  and  spiritual 
prosperity  of  the  people.  These  two  abuses  were  the  mixed  mar- 
riages and  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath.  He  affords  through- 
out a  good  model  both  for  civil  and  religious  rulers  in  his  spirit  and 
methods. 

After  ruling  in  Jerusalem  as  governor  for  twelve  years,  he  had 
occasion  to  return  to  Babylon,  probably  to  consult  Artaxerxes  the 
king  on  some  matters,  and  was  detained  at  the  court  for  some  time, 
when  he  again  obtained  leave  to  return  to  Jerusalem  and  resume  his 
work  there,  (v.  6.)  It  was  in  this  interval  of  absence  that  the 
abuses  to  which  we  have  referred  sprung  up,  and,  shame  be  it  to  say, 
they  arose  not  so  much  among  the  common  people  as  by  the  instiga- 
tion and  connivance  of  the  high-priest  and  the  nobles,  (vs.  4,  11, 
17,  28.)  In  his  absence  Eliashib  (the  high-priest  then)  had  made 
alliance  with  Tobiah,  one  of  Nehemiah's  old  enemies,  and  had  even 
vacated  one  of  the  great  chambers  of  the  Temple  and  given  it  to 
him  for  a  residence,  also,  in  the  meantime,  neglecting  to  care  for  the 
Levites,  so  that  they  were  compelled  to  forsake  the  Temple  and 
resort  to  the  country,  turning  agriculturists  in  order  to  earn  for 
themselves  a  living.  More  than  that,  he  had  married  one  of  his 
grandsons  to  the  daughter  of  Sanballat  the  Horonite  (v.  28),  thus 
not  only  re-introducing  the  hateful  mixed  marriages  into  Jerusalem, 
but  leading  the  way  to  the  general  prevalence  of  that  practice 
among  the  people.  In  the  meantime  all  manner  of  work  and  traffic 
on  the  Sabbath-day  was  allowed  and  encouraged,  not  only  by  the 
children  of  Judah  themselves,  but  by  the  strangers  who  dwelt  in  the 
city,  and  by  merchants  from  without  the  city,  who  were  encouraged 
to  bring  in  their  merchandise  and  trade  on  the  holy  day,  so  that 
Jerusalem  was  one  great  busy  bazaar  on  the  day  which  God  had 
sanctified  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship. 


82  KEEPING  THE   SABBATH. 


I.— THE   SABBATH  PROFANED. 

The  first  thing  that  attracted  the  attention  of  Nehemiah  on  his 
return  to  Jerusalem  was  the  labor  going  on  in  the  outlying  fields  on 
the  Sabbath.  "In  those  days  saw  I  in  Judah  some  treading  the 
w^inepress  on  the  Sabbath,"  etc.  (v.  15.)  Then,  entering  the  city, 
he  found  all  manner  of  trade  and  traffic  going  on.  This  was  clearly 
a  most  flagrant  violation  of  God's  law,  and  aroused  his  indignation. 
Before  noting  in  particular  the  doings  of  Nehemiah  in  these  circum- 
stances, it  may  be  well  for  us  to  take  a  brief  review  of  the  relation 
of  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  to  the  whole  economy  of  the  Jewish 
people.  The  Sabbath  is  the  first  and  oldest  ceremonial  institution 
established  on  the  earth.  It  was  sanctified  from  the  very  birth  of 
the  human  race.  (Gen.  ii,  2,  3.)  God  finished  his  creation  on  the 
sixth  day,  and  on  the  seventh  he  rested  and  "  sanctified  it,  because 
that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work  which  God  created 
and  made."  Thus  did  God  from  the  beginning  set  apart  and  bless 
this  holy  day.  This  alone  ought  to  have  made  it  holy  for  all  his 
people  in  all  time.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  was 
known  and  observed  by  such  as  kept  the  knowledge  of  God  from 
the  days  of  Adam  until  the  days  of  Moses,  through  the  whole  earth. 
It  was  revived  and  became  the  sign  of  the  new  creation  or  redemp- 
tion in  connection  with  the  deliverance  of  the  children  of  Israel 
from  bondage  in  Egypt.  (Deut.  v,  13,  14.)  While  on  their  journey 
through  the  wilderness  its  strict  observance  was  commanded  in 
connection  with  the  gathering  of  the  manna.  On  the  sixth  day  they 
were  commanded  to  gather  a  double  portion,  that  there  need  be 
no  necessity  for  labor  on  the  seventh  day.  (Ex.  xvi,  23.)  It  was 
finally  incorporated  in  the  law  which  Go4  gave  to  Moses  on  Sinai. 
(Ex.  XX,  8;  Deut.  v,  13.)  Thereafter  it  became  one  of  the  most 
solemn  of  God's  ordinances.  It  stood,  a  sign,  attesting  the  obedience 
and  faithfulness  of  the  people  to  God  as  the  tree  of  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil  had  stood  in  the  beginning  to  Adam  and  Eve.  (Ex. 
xxxi,  13.)  To  observe  the  Sabbath  and  keep  it  faithfully  was  a 
guarantee  of  good  faith,  and  contained  the  promise  of  all  blessing ; 
to  violate  and  desecrate  it  was  a  sign  of  godlessness,  and  brought 
down  upon  the  offender  the  curse  of  God.  Its  violation  was  punish- 
able with  death.  (Ex.  xxxi,  15;  Num.  xv,  35.)  Jesus  declared  that 
this  holy  day  of  rest  was  ''made  for  man."  (Mark  ii,  27.)  It  was 
continued  with  the  modification  of  its  symbolic  teaching  by  the  early 
Christians  on  the  Lord's  day,  or  the  ''day  of  resurrection."     (Actg 


THE   SABBATH   PROFANED.  83 

XX,  7;  I.  Cor.  xvi,  2;  Rev.  i,  10.)  In  respect  of  the  change  of  the 
day  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  under  the  Christian  dispensation, 
while  there  is  no  expressly  written  word  concerning  it,  it  is  gen- 
erally understood  to  signify  that  our  Lord  by  his  death  had  finished 
the  work  of  redemption  (which  was  the  crowning  work  of  creation), 
thus  bringing  in,  as  it  were,  the  new  creation  of  God ;  and  as  his 
resurrection  was  the  completion  of  the  redemption  work  wherein 
God  took  delight,  it  became  the  true  day  of  rest.  In  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  this  spiritual  significance  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  rela- 
tion of  believers  to  it  is  fully  set  forth.  The  rest  of  creation  is  there 
contrasted  with  the  rest  of  redemption,  and  as  of  old  the  Jews  were 
required  to  enter  into  the  day  of  creation  rest,  so  now  the  Christian 
is  required  to  enter  into  the  redemption  rest.  "And  God  did  rest 
the  seventh  day  from  all  his  works."  (Heb.  iv,  4.)  But  another 
day  is  pointed  to  by  David :  "Again  he  limiteth  a  certain  day,"  say- 
ing, "To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts." 
"There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest"  (Sabbath)  "to  the  people  of 
God.  For  he  that  is  entered  into  his  rest  hath  ceased  from  his  own 
work  as  God  did  from  his."  That  is,  we  find  rest  by  faith  in  the 
finished  work  of  Christ,  as  God  found  rest  in  the  finishing  of  crea- 
tion. "  For  we  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest."  The  Chris- 
tian Sabbath,  then,  is  connected  with  the  finished  work  of  Christ, 
and  not  with  the  finishing  of  creation  ;  therefore,  as  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  marked  the  finishing  of  his  great  redemptive  work,  by  which 
he  brought  in  the  new  creation  (II.  Cor.  v,  IT),  his  resurrection  day 
(that  is,  the  first  day  of  the  week)  is  our  Sabbath-day.  For  among 
the  "old  things  which  have  passed  away"  by  the  coming  of  Jesus  is 
the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  among  the  "  all  things  which  have  become 
new"  is  the  Christian's  Sabbath,  or  Lord's  day.  (Heb.  iv,  1-11.) 
(For  those  who  may  Mash  to  study  the  matter  further,  the  following 
references  may  be  helpful :  Gen.  ii,  2,  3 ;  Ex.  xii,  16 ;  xx,  8,  11 ; 
xxxi,  13 ;  xxxv,  3 ;  Lev.  xix,  3,  30  ;  xxvi,  2 ;  Num.  xv,  32,  36 ;  Deut. 
V,  12,  15 ;  Neh.  ix,  14 ;  x,  31 ;  xiii,  15 ;  Is.  Ivi,  2,  6 ;  hdii,  13,  14 ; 
Jer.  xvii,  24,  27 ;  Ezek.  xx,  12 ;  xxii,  8 ;  Amos  viii,  5 ;  Matt,  xii,  1 ; 
Mark  i,  21 ;  ii,  24 ;  Luke  iv,  16 ;  John  v,  9,  18 ;  vii,  22,  23 ;  xx,  1, 
19 ;  Acts  xiii,  44 ;  xvi,  13 ;  xvii,  2 ;  xviii,  4 ;  xx,  7 ;  Rev.  i,  10 ;  and 
many  others  which  may  be  turned  up  with  the  aid  of  a  reference 
Bible  or  a  concordance.) 

1.  Details  of  the  desecration. — The  first  specification  in  Ne- 
hemiah's  indictment  was  that  he  saw  men  "  in  Judah,  some  treading 
winepresses  on  the  Sabbath,  and  some  bringing  in  sheaves  and  lad- 
ing asses,  as  also  wine,  grapes,  and  figs,  and  all  manner  of  burdens, 


84  KEEPING  THE   SABBATH. 

■which  they  brought  into  Jerusalem  on  the  Sabbath-day."  (v.  15.)  In 
fact,  the  desecration  had  gone  so  far  that  all  the  ordinary  labor  of 
the  field  and  all  the  details  of  merchandise  were  carried  on  on  the 
Sabbath  just  as  on  other  days.  It  could  not  be  urged  that  bringing 
in  produce  on  the  Sabbath-day  and  selling  it  as  victuals  were  works 
of  necessity,  for  these  victuals  included  wine,  grapes,  and  figs,  as 
well  as  corn,  which  were  the  luxuries  of  the  table,  and  not  necessi- 
ties. In  other  words,  the  Sabbath  was  completely  ignored  by  the 
country  people  in  continuing  their  farm  labor  and  traffic,  and  by  the 
city  people  in  buying  and  trading  with  the  vendors  of  country  prod- 
uce. This  of  com-se  necessitated  the  opening  of  the  bazaars,  where 
these  things  brought  in  from  the  country  were  first  bought  from  the 
farmers  and  then  sold  to  the  citizens.  God  and  his  day  were  en- 
tirely forgotten,  and  man  and  his  greed  of  gain  and  gratification  of 
appetite  were  uppermost.  It  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  in  the 
meantime  the  service  of  the  Temple  was  neglected  and  its  courts 
empty  of  worshipers.  I  have  here,  in  this  heathen  country,  seen 
this  state  of  affairs  every  Sabbath-day  since  I  have  been  in  India. 
All  farm  work  and  all  the  business  of  the  cities  go  on  just  the  same 
as  on  any  other  day.  Work  on  buildings  both  public  and  private  is 
continued.  The  government  of  India  participates  in  this  desecra- 
tion as  well  as  the  heathen  natives  of  the  city.  Private  (European) 
companies  in  trade  and  manufacture  take  this  holy  day  for  making 
all  their  repairs  and  "doing  up,"  as  they  say,  their  ''odd  jobs." 
The  tendency  in  our  own  country  to  introduce  what  is  called  the 
European  Sabbath  will  soon,  unless  checked,  bring  in  upon  us  not  a 
European  Sabbath,  but  a  state  of  heathenism  differing  from  that  out 
here  only  in  name.  Besides  the  desecration  of  the  day  by  the 
Jews  themselves,  there  ''dwelt  men  of  Tyre,  also  therein,  which 
brought  fish,  and  all  manner  of  ware,  and  sold  on  the  Sabbath  unto 
the  children  of  Judah,  and  in  Jerusalem."  Nehemiah  had  no  objec- 
tion to  foreigners  dwelling  in  the  city  and  carrying  on  their  legiti- 
mate trade.  This  had  been  a  custom  permitted  from  of  old  and 
warranted  by  the  permission  of  God ;  but  it  was  expected  and  com- 
manded that  they  must  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  covenant  people. 
It  is  probable  that  it  was  these  Tyrian  traders  in  the  city  who  first 
set  the  example  of  Sabbath-breaking  by  continuing  their  trade,  and 
since  the  nobles  did  not  forbid  them,  the  children  of  Judah,  to  "  hold 
their  own,"  began  also  to  trade.  The  bringing  in  of  fish  involved 
fishing  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  transportation  of  the  fish  from  the 
sea  and  the  lake  to  the  city.  We  know  something  of  this  process  at 
home.     Foreigners  who  have  come  to  dwell  with  us  and  partake  of 


THE   SABBATH   PROFANED.  85 

the  benefits  of  our  country  and  government  have  brought  with  them 
their  "European  habits,"  and  have  not  observed  the  Sabbath  as  our 
fathers  did,  and  as  all  true  Christians  desire  to  do  now.  A  false 
tolerance  has  allowed  them,  little  by  little,  to  infract  the  quiet  and 
the  rest  of  the  Lord's  day ;  and  then  their  customs  have  corrupted 
the  less  scrupulous  among  om'selves,  and  it  looks  as  though  our  Sab- 
bath-day was  to  be  entirely  desecrated.  Our  municipal  governors 
have  taken  the  bribe  and  consented  to  the  opening  of  places  of 
music,  and  such  places  of  business  as  the  Sabbath-breakers  desire 
to  traffic  with ;  public  conveyances  to  all  manner  of  places  of  pleas- 
ure are  being  driven  to  accommodate  the  Sabbath-breakers ;  drink- 
ing saloons  are  being  opened,  and  even  now  the  rulers  of  the  cities 
are  pleading  that  such  things  are  necessary  for  the  well-being  of  the 
people.  Personal  freedom  is  pleaded  against  the  law  of  God  and 
the  early  institutions  of  our  free  country,  and  evil  is  upon  us  beyond 
what  we  think.  A  third  count  was  that  traders  from  without  came 
with  their  wares  and  encamped  just  outside  the  city  walls,  and  a 
busy  traffic  went  on  through  the  gates  of  the  city.  All  this  Nehe- 
miah  saw,  and  his  righteous  soul  was  vexed  and  his  indignation  was 
kindled  at  the  sight.  It  was  well  for  Jerusalem  that  Nehemiah  had 
returned  (perhaps  unexpectedly  to  the  rulers  and  the  people)  to  set 
God's  house  and  God's  city  in  order  again. 

2.  Measures  of  reform. — Nehemiah  was  as  quick  to  undertake 
the  correction  of  this  flagrant  evil  as  he  was  to  perceive  it.  He  lost 
no  time,  and  did  not  mince  his  words  or  allow  the  sword  of  his 
magisterial  authority  to  remain  rusting  in  the  scabbard.  He  first 
fell  upon  the  nobles,  as  they  were  the  chief  offenders.  The  city  was 
in  their  charge.  They  were  responsible  both  for  its  good  govern- 
ment and  for  the  sacred  observance  of  the  laws  of  the  sanctuary 
and  the  day  of  rest.  A  little  while  before  (x,  30,  31)  they  had  en- 
tered into  a  solemn  covenant  not  to  give  their  daughters  in  marriage 
to  strangers,  and  to  keep  sacred  the  Sabbath,  especially  in  respect 
of  all  manner  of  merchandise  and  traffic  on  the  holy  day.  Without 
their  connivance  and  encouragement^  the  present  state  of  things 
could  not  have  come  to  pass.  It  was  probably  their  desire  for  "  fresh 
fish "  and  "  fresh  fruit "  for  their  tables  which  led  to  the  mischief. 
They  were  double  offenders,  first  in  gratifying  their  own  indulgences 
at  the  expense  of  the  holy  day,  and  then  in  winking  at  the  breaking 
of  the  day  by  the  people.  Nehemiah  was  not  tender  with  them. 
He  summoned  them  into  his  presence  and  broke  out  upon  them : 
"What  evil  thing  is  this  that  ye  do,  and  profane  the  Sabbath-day?" 
They  did  not  trade  and  lade  asses,  but  they  would  send  their  serv- 


86  KEEPING   THE   SABBATH. 

ants  to  buy.  Tliey  sat  still  and  allowed  the  evil  to  go  on  without 
rebuke.  They  were  in  authority,  and  therefore  Nehemiah  held  them 
responsible  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  He  struck  at  the  root  of  the 
evil.  It  was  no  use  remonstrating  with  the  peojDle  when  the  nobles 
were  guilty.  It  is  "  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places  "  that  always 
threatens  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  community.  These  are  true 
proverbs:  ''Like  rulers  like  people";  ''Like  priests  like  people." 
He  remonstrates  with  them  and  points  out  the  evil  that  they  are  do- 
ing, and  the  calamities  which  they  are  inviting  upon  the  city  and  the 
nation.  "  Did  not  your  fathers  thus,  and  did  not  our  God  bring  all 
this  evil  upon  us,  and  upon  this  city?  yet  ye  bring  more  wrath  upon 
Israel  by  profaning  the  Sabbath."  It  was  through  this  open  door 
of  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  that  all  the  evil  of  old  had  come 
upon  the  land  and  Jerusalem.  He  probably  alluded  to  what  Jere- 
miah had  said  to  the  people  before  the  capti\dty:  "And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  if  ye  diligently  hearken  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord,  to 
bring  in  no  burden  through  the  gates  of  this  city  on  the  Sabbath- 
day,  but  hallow  the  Sabbath-day,  to  do  no  work  therein,"  then  shall 
all  manner  of  blessing  and  prosperity  be  yours.  "  But  if  ye  will  not 
hearken  unto  me  to  hallow  the  Sabbath-day,  .  .  .  then  will  I  kindle 
a  fire  in  the  gates  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  it  shall  not  be  quenched."  (Jer.  xvii,  24,  27.)  This 
prophecy  of  evil  was  fulfilled  when  Nebuchadnezzar  took  the  city 
and  burned  it  to  the  ground  and  carried  away  the  people  captive  to 
Babylon.  Now  had  they  scarcely  been  restored  to  their  city  and 
country,  their  Temple  rebuilt  and  the  walls  and  palaces  repaired 
and  restored,  yet  the  nobles  and  the  people  were  committing  the 
same  sins  as  their  fathers  did,  and  inviting  "more  wrath."  It  is  not 
a  wonder  that  this  pious  and  God-fearing,  Scripture-reading  and 
loving  governor  was  indignant,  and  "did  well  to  be  angry."  "  They 
that  forsake^  the  law  praise  the  wicked :  but  such  as  keep  the  law 
contend  with  them."  If  any  think  Nehemiah  too  severe  in  his  con- 
tention with  the  wicked,  let  them  remember  that  it  is  a  Christian 
injunction  to  "have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  dark- 
ness, but  rather  to  reprove  them."  (Prov.  xxviii,  4;  Eph.  v,  11.) 
It  is  not  enough  to  withdraw  from  evil  and  evil-doers,  but  we  must 
rebuke  and  reprove  them.  This  is  especially  true  of  rulers  who  are 
set  by  God  as  a  defense  of  the  right  and  a  terror  to«evil-doers.  Nehe- 
miah next  adopted  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  day  by  means 
of  guarding  the  gates.  He  ordained  that  the  gates  should  be  closed 
a  little  before  sunset  on  Friday  evening  and  not  opened  again  until 
after  the  Sabbath  was  over.     This  prevented  the  traders,  whether 


THE   PEAYER   OF   NEHEMIAH.  87 

Jews  or  foreigners,  from  entering  the  city  on  the  holy  day.  There 
could  be  no  foreign  traffic,  at  least,  if  this  measure  was  carried  out. 
The  "foot  gate"  (or  small  wicket)  was  allowed  to  be  open  to  enable 
persons  to  pass  in  and  out ;  but  to  prevent  merchants  from  bringing 
in  their  packs  on  their  backs  he  set  guards  there  to  watch  that  the 
order  be  not  infracted.  This  compelled  the  merchants  to  camp  out- 
side the  gates,  and  a  considerable  traffic  was  still  carried  on  that 
way.  This  also  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  Nehemiah,  he  went  out 
to  them  and  spoke  to  them  in  a  way  that  they  could  not  fail  to  under- 
stand. Once  or  twice  they  had  thus  allured  the  people  out  to  trade 
with  them.  Nehemiah  went  out  and  rated  them  soundly  and  said 
to  them  plainly  :  "  Why  lodge  ye  about  the  wall  ?  If  ye  do  so  again, 
I  will  lay  hands  on  you."  That  is,  I  will  have  you  arrested.  This 
drastic  measure  succeeded,  and  the  merchants  came  no  more.  Nehe- 
miah was  one  of  those  magistrates  who  "  bore  not  the  sword  in  vain, 
but  was  a  terror  to  the  evil-doers."  Happy  is  the  country  which  has 
such  rulers,  just  and  generous,  the  rewarder  of  those  who  do  well 
and  a  terror  to  the  wicked.  Having  thus  set  the  city  in  order,  he 
commanded  the  Levites  who  had  fled  from  Jerusalem  to  return  and 
cleanse  themselves,  and  he  sot  some  of  them  to  keep  the  gates  of  the 
city,  and  to  see  that  there  was  no  more  violation  of  the  Sabbath  by 
the  bringing  in  of  burdens  through  them  on  the  Sabbath. 


II.— THE   PRAYER   OF    NEHEMIAH. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Nehemiah  carried  out  his  reforms, 
did  his  great  work,  and  executed  the  office  of  governor  in  the  mere 
energy  of  the  flesh.  He  was  a  devout  man  and  so  habituated  to 
prayer  that  at  all  times  and  seasons  he  would  pour  out  his  heart  to 
God  in  short  ejaculations,  covering  his  present  necessity.  In  this 
chapter  he  records  three  such  prayers,  interspersed  ^t  those  critical 
moments  when  he  was  assaulted  with  fits  of  depression,  when  he 
felt  the  immediate  need  of  God's  help,  or  was  desirous  of  referring 
his  measures  for  reform  to  God  for  approval.  He  begins  his  prayer 
by  a  uniform  formula,  "  Remember  me,  O  my  God."  At  verse  four- 
teen he  prays  that  his  good  deeds  might  not  be  wiped  out,  by  which 
I  suppose  he  means  simply  that  all  his  labor  and  toil  for  the  city 
might  not  be  frustrated  and  brought  to  naught  by  these  e^dl-doers. 
At  verse  twenty-nine  he  prays  that  the  priesthood  and  the  covenant 
of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  Levites  might  be  preserved.  This 
seems  to  be  a  prayer  for  the  preservation  of  these  holy  offices  intact 


88  KEEPING  THE  SABBATH. 

and  in  holiness,  and  expresses  his  strong  desire  for  the  preservation 
and  maintenance  of  the  purity  of  religion  among  these  officers  and 
the  people.  At  verse  twenty-two,  which  falls  within  the  limits  of 
our  study  to-day,  he  prays  for  the  divine  approval  of  the  measures 
he  had  taken  to  purify  the  city  from  the  Sabbath  desecration  which 
it  had  suffered.  But  he  also  now  prays  for  himself.  The  sins  of 
the  people  had  made  him  sensitive  to  his  own,  and  while  dealing 
harshly  with  the  evil-doers  around  him,  he  seems  to  recognize  that 
he  needs  to  be  dealt  with  in  mercy  himself.  "  Eemember  me,  O  my 
God,  and  spare  me  according  to  the  greatness  of  thy  mercy."  He 
does  not  plead  his  good  works  or  all  his  zeal  in  the  service  of  God 
and  the  people,  but  with  true  evangelical  feeling  he  casts  himself 
upon  the  greatness  of  God's  mercy.  Perhaps  also  in  this  prayer  he 
was  thinking  of  the  people.  "  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and 
the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  :  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him  :  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon."    (Is.  Iv,  7.) 


XT. 
ESTHER  BEFORE  THE  KING.— Esther  iv,  10-17;  v,  1-3. 

(10)  Again  Esther  spake  unto  Hatach,  and  gave  him  commandment  nnto 
Mordecai ;  (11)  All  the  king's  servants,  and  the  people  of  the  king's  prov- 
inces, do  know,  that  whosoever,  whether  man  or  woman,  shall  come  unto 
the  king  into  the  inner  court,  who  is  not  called,  there  is  one  law  of  his  to 
put  him  to  death,  except  such  to  whom  the  king  shall  hold  out  the  golden 
sceptre,  that  he  may  live :  hut  I  have  not  been  called  to  come  in  unto  the 
king  these  thirty  days.  (12)  And  they  told  to  Mordecai  Esther's  words. 
(13)  Then  Mordecai  commanded  to  answer  Esther,  Think  not  with  thyself 
that  thou  shalt  escape  in  the  king's  house,  more  than  all  the  Jews.  (14)  For 
if  thou  altogether  holdest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then  shall  there  enlarge- 
ment and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews  from  another  place ;  but  thou  and 
thy  father's  house  shall  be  destroyed:  and  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art 
come  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this?  (15)  Then  Esther  bade  them 
return  Mordecai  this  answer,  (16)  Go,  gather  together  all  the  Jews  that  are 
present  in  Shushan,  and  fast  ye  for  me,  and  neither  eat  nor  drink  three 
days,  night  or  day :  I  also  and  my  maidens  will  fast  likewise ;  and  so  will  I 
go  in  unto  the  king,  which  is  not  according  to  the  law  and  if  I  perish,  I 
perish.  (17)  So  Mordecai  went  his  way,  and  did  according  to  all  that  Esther 
had  commanded  him.  (1)  Now  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day,  that  Esther 
put  on  her  royal  apparel,  and  stood  in  the  inner  court  of  the  king's  house, 
over  against  the  king's  house :  and  the  king  sat  upon  his  royal  throne  in  the 
royal  house,  over  against  the  gate  of  the  house.  (2)  And  it  was  so,  when 
the  king  saw  Esther  the  queen  standing  in  the  court,  that  she  obtained 
favour  in  his  sight :  and  the  king  held  out  to  Esther  the  golden  sceptre  that 
was  in  his  hand.  So  Esther  drew  near,  and  touched  the  top  of  the  sceptre. 
(3)  Then  said  the  king  unto  her,  What  wilt  thou,  queen  Esther?  and  what 
is  thy  request?  it  shall  be  even  given  thee  to  the  half  of  the  kingdom.— 
Esther  iv,  10-17;  v,  1-3. 

Chronologically  the  book  of  Esther  follows  rightly  after  Nehe- 
miah,  for  the  story  which  it  records  was  in  the  reign  of  Ahasuerus, 
or  Xerxes,  the  successor  of  Artaxerxes,  the  friend  of  Nehemiah  and 
of  the  Jews.  It  is  pretty  well  agreed  among  scholars  that  the 
Ahasuerus  of  Esther  was  the  Xerxes  of  Persia,  who  became  famous 
in  connection  with  his  great  expedition  against  Greece,  and  his 
humiliating  defeat.  The  more  this  book  has  been  subject  to  the 
critical  examination  of  scholars  the  more  does  its  claim  to  a  place 
in  the  canon  of  Scripture  seem  justified.  By  whom  it  was  written 
is  unknown.  Certainly  not  by  Ezra,  as  some  have  supposed,  and 
equally  certainly  not  by  Mordecai,  the  noble  Jew  whose  instrumen- 


90  ESTHER   BEFORE   THE  KING. 

tality  in  tlie  saving  of  his  nation  tliese  brief  chapters  so  prominently 
record.  It  must  have  been  written  by  some  Jew  of  the  dispersion 
who  was  at  the  same  time  intimately  acquainted  with  all  the  ins  and 
outs  of  the  Persian  com't,  for  the  minute  and  life-like  touches  dis- 
cerned all  through  the  book  are  proof  of  that ;  that  the  writer  was 
a  Jew  is  also  evident  from  the  strong  bias  of  interest  in  behalf  of  the 
distressed  and  threatened  people  which  runs  all  through  the  story. 
That  it  was  written  shortly  after  the  events  detailed  is  also  equally 
certain,  from  internal  evidence.  It  has  all  the  marks  and  character- 
istics of  a  book  written  by  one  who  was  himself  cognizant  of  the 
facts  recorded.  It  is  too  ^'living"  to  be  merely  an  old  story  or 
tradition. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  book  are  very  marked.  The  first  one  is 
that  throughout  its  pages  there  is  not  only  no  mention  of  the  name 
of  God,  but,  except  in  one  case,  not  even  a  reference  to  him.  The 
book  is  entirely  secular  in  its  structure,  and  records  events  in  a  man- 
ner that  is  entirely  independent  of  any  other  forces  or  powers  be- 
yond the  earth  and  man.  And  yet  the  wonder  is  that  no  one  can 
read  this  book  without  the  feeling  that  God  is  everywhere  present  in 
it,  and  that  the  principal  characters,  both  Mordecai  and  Esther, 
were  moved  by  his  fear  and  strengthened  by  his  presence.  Dean 
Stanley  remarks  in  his  lectures  on  the  Jewish  Church  :  *'It  is  expe- 
dient for  us  that  we  should  have  one  book  which  omits  the  name  of 
God  altogether,  to  prevent  us  from  attaching  to  the  mere  name  a 
reverence  which  belongs  only  to  the  reality."  The  whole  story  is  a 
grand  lesson  on  the  presence  of  God  in  history,  especially  in  connec- 
tion with  his  providential  care  for  his  own  chosen  people  in  this 
world.  It  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that  God  is  in  all  history, 
whether  the  historian  mentions  his  name  or  not.  Perhaps  this  pecul- 
iarity of  the  Book  of  Esther  may  serve  to  help  us  remember  this 
when  reading  secular  history.  Not  only  is  not  the  name  of  God  men- 
tioned, but  there  is  in  the  whole  no  direct  religious  teaching,  and 
neither  any  reference  to  or  record  of  prayer.  Esther  and  Mordecai 
and  the  Jews  are  said  to  have  fasted,  but  it  is  not  said  that  they 
prayed,  though  no  doubt  they  did.  There  is  present  a  loftiness  of 
religious  character  in  both  Mordecai  and  Esther,  but  no  reference  to 
the  secret  source  of  their  faith,  sublime  heroism,  and  trust.  Neither 
is  Jerusalem  nor  Palestine  mentioned,  nor  even  alluded  to,  nor  any 
reference  made  to  Israel's  past  history  or  to  the  present  condition  of 
the  Jews  either  in  Palestine  or  in  Babylon.  The  Jews  who  were  the 
particular  objects  of  the  hatred  of  Haman  were  those  exiled  Jews 
who  had  chosen  not  to  return  to  their  own  land  either  under  the 


ESTHER'S  HESITATION.  91 

leadership  of  Ezra  or  Nehemiah.  Good  people  are  always  more  or 
less  exposed  to  danger,  but  tliey  are  never  in  such  danger  as  when 
they  are  voluntary  residents  in  Babylon  or  are  willfully  living  or  do- 
ing business  on  the  world's  ground. 

The  book  itself  is  a  continuous  narrative  without  any  regularity 
of  breaks,  and  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  give  any  analysis  of  the 
book  by  chapters.  It  begins  with  an  account  of  a  great  feast  given 
by  the  king,  and  his  whimsical  command  that  the  queen  should  ap- 
pear before  the  king  and  his  guests  unveiled,  that  he  might  display 
her  beauty.  To  this  the  queen  refused  to  submit,  as  being  disgrace- 
ful. Her  refusal  led  to  divorce  and  banishment  from  the  court. 
Then  we  have  the  account  of  the  search  for  some  one  to  take  Vashti's 
place,  and  the  final  choice  of  Esther,  a  beautiful  young  Jewess,  the 
niece  of  Mordecai.  Mordecai  was  an  officer  of  the  king's  court,  and 
he  somehow  discovered  a  plot  against  the  king's  life,  revealing  it 
in  time  to  save  the  king.  Haman,  the  prime-minister  of  the  king, 
hated  Mordecai  because  the  latter  refused  to  pay  him  the  deference 
he  thought  due  to  him.  As  a  matter  of  revenge  he  succeeded  in 
securing  a  decree  that  all  the  Jews  throughout  the  empire  should  bo 
put  to  death.  The  time  for  carrying  out  the  decree  was  decided  by 
lot,  and  fell  on  a  date  nearly  a  year  later.  In  the  meantime  the 
king  had  discovered  that  nothing  had  ever  been  done  to  reward 
Mordecai  for  revealing  the  plot  against  his  life.  He  determined  to 
reward  him  royally,  and  to  this  end  (without  mentioning  who  was 
in  his  mind)  he  asked  Haman  what  he  should  do  to  the  man  whom 
the  king  desired  to  honor.  The  pride  and  conceit  of  Haman  sug- 
gested to  himself  that  he  was  the  man  whom  the  king  had  in  mind, 
and  he  planned  the  great  honor  which  to  his  utter  mortification  he 
had  to  bestow  upon  Mordecai.  The  turn  thus  in  the  fortunes  of 
Haman  culminated  in  himself  being  hanged  on  his  own  gallows. 
The  Jews,  in  the  meantime,  through  the  favor  granted  to  Esther, 
are  permitted  to  defend  themselves  against  their  enemies,  which 
they  do  successfully,  and  so  are  delivered.  This  is  the  outline  of 
the  story  of  the  book,  omitting  the  particular  incident  which  is  the 
subject  of  our  study. 

I.— ESTHER'S  HESITATION. 

When  Esther  had  heard  from  Mordecai  of  the  decree  of  Ahasuerus 
(of  which  she  had  been  ignorant),  and  that  the  only  hope  of  their 
deliverance  lay  in  her  going  into  the  presence  of  the  king  and  mak- 
ing supplication  to  him  for  her  people,  she  naturally  shrank  from 


92  ESTHER  BEFORE  THE  KING. 

undertaking  this  perilous  adventure,  for  reasons  which  she  states  in 
the  answer  she  sends  to  Mordeeai.  Esther  was  full  of  sorrow  and 
sympathy  for  her  threatened  people,  even  though  possibly  it  had  not 
occurred  to  her  that  she  also  was  threatened  with  the  rest.  It  was 
a  great  crisis  in  her  life,  and  she  found  herself  in  a  great  strait. 
She  wanted  to  help  her  people,  but  she  could  not  find  the  best  way. 
The  plan  suggested  by  Mordeeai  seemed  both  impracticable  and 
hopeless.  Not  only  was  there  personal  danger  to  herself  in  it,  but 
if  she  should  fail  to  win  the  royal  favor  then  there  would  be  no  pos- 
sibility for  her  to  help  her  doomed  people.  Every  position  brings 
its  responsibility,  and  every  life  has  its  crises.  Esther's  position 
was  a  high  one,  but  it  did  not  excuse  or  deliver  her  from  great  re- 
sponsibility. Like  Moses  she  was  in  the  king's  palace,  and  like  him 
she  had  come  into  a  strait,  and  must  cast  in  her  lot  with  and  for 
God's  people,  "not  counting  her  life  dear  to  herself."  She  was 
not  unwilling  to  do  her  part,  but  the  difficulties  in  the  w^ay  were 
not  only  great  but  almost  insuperable,  and  she  shrunk  from  fac- 
ing them.  This  was  no  sign  of  cowardice,  but  only  that  natural 
hesitation  which  even  the  bravest  and  most  willing  may  experi- 
ence ;  and  she  sent  word  back  to  Mordeeai,  stating  the  difaculties 
in  her  way. 

1.  The  one  law. — It  was  well  known  all  over  the  provinces, 
that  ''whosoever,  whether  man  or  woman,  shall  come  unto  the  king 
in  the  inner  court,  uncalled,  shall  be  put  to  death."  There  was  only 
one  exception  to  this  law,  which  we  will  note  presently.  This  one 
law  is  to  be  understood  as  relating  to  every  one,  to  the  queen  as 
well  as  to  the  meanest  of  the  subjects.  (Dan.  ii,  9.)  It  was  an  ab- 
solute law,  not  to  be  waived  on  any  account  in  favor  of  any  one,  ex- 
cept under  the  only  circumstance  when  it  was  suspended.  If  we  are 
allowed  to  read  an  allegory  into  this  book  we  may  contrast  Esther's 
position  with  that  of  the  sinner.  Before  God  it  is  also  true  :  there 
is  no  difference,  for  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God ;  but  then  God  has  spoken  no  decree  which  makes  approach  to 
him  perilous  or  punishable  by  death.  It  is  indeed  a  fearful  thing  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God,  but  that  living  God  in  grace 
has  bidden  all  men  to  turn  to  him  in  repentance  and  to  seek  his  face. 
It  was  death  for  even  the  queen  to  go  into  the  inner  court  of  king 
Ahasuerus  unbidden.  It  is  death  for  the  sinner,  having  been  bidden, 
not  to  go  into  the  presence  of  God,  who  only  hath  immortality  and 
eternal  life.  Of  old  the  high-priest  only  might  go  into  the  holiest 
of  all ;  but  now,  since  Jesus  had  died  and  rent  the  veil  of  the  Temple 
from  the  top  downward,  it  is  not  only  the  privilege  of  all  men  to 


ESTHER'S   HESITATION.  93 

enter  into  the  holiest  of  all,  but  it  is  death  not  to  enter  in  there. 
"Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith." 
(Heb.  X,  22.) 

2.  The  golden  scepter. — The  capricious  king  of  Babylon,  in 
making  the  decree  concerning  the  unbidden  entrance  into  his  pres- 
ence, reserved  to  himself  the  right  to  be  '^  gracious  to  whom  he 
would  be  gracious."  So  in  case  any  one  should  come  into  his  inner 
court,  if  it  pleased  him  to  extend  the  golden  scepter  (which  he 
habitually  carried  in  his  hand)  it  meant  suspension  of  the  "  one  law  " 
and  a  sign  that  the  petitioner  had  found  favor  in  his  sight.  This 
exercise  of  grace  was  purely  arbitrary  on  his  part.  Esther  had  no 
means  of  knowing  whether  the  king  would  receive  her  graciously 
or  in  anger.  The  chances  were  against  her  in  the  ease.  Now  with 
God  the  case  is  different.  His  grace  is  never  capricious,  but  it  is 
"the  eternal  purpose  which  he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
Jesus  is  in  fact  that  golden  scepter  which  God  has  held  out  to  the 
world,  and  by  whom  he  offers  eternal  life  to  all.  None  need  fear 
coming  to  God  in  the  name  of  Christ,  for  he  has  bidden  all  to 
come ;  and  to  whomsoever  comes  he  holds  out  this  golden  scepter. 
"Him  that  cometh  to  me,"  saith  Christ,  "I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out." 

3.  "  I  have  not  been  called." — There  was  another  most  serious 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  Esther.  She  now  communicates  it  to  Mordecai 
for  the  first  time.  The  king's  first  ardor  had  cooled,  and  for  a  whole 
month  she  had  not  been  called  into  his  presence.  If  she  were  not 
in  disfavor  she  certainly  was  not  in  high  favor — not  sufficiently  so 
to  warrant  her  in  risking  the  cause  of  the  Jews  (which  was  lying 
tenderly  on  her  heart)  on  the  hazard  of  the  king's  whim.  Now  how 
different  is  the  case  of  the  sinner  before  God  from  the  case  of  Esther 
and  the  Jews  before  Xerxes.  She  had  not  been  called.  Whereas 
God  has  called  all  sinners  into  his  presence,  not  for  condemnation, 
but  for  forgiveness  and  justification.  When  we  draw  nigh  to  God 
it  may  always  be  in  confidence.  "Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  mirighteous  man  his  thoughts  :  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will 
abundantly  pardon."  (Is.  Iv,  7.)  '^Come  unto  me,"  saith  Jesus,  ''all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  It  is  true 
that  death  stares  us  in  the  face  on  account  of  our  sin ;  but  the  way 
into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  Life  is  open,  and  we  are  invited 
to  enter. 

It  shall  come  to  pass  that  "whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."     (Rom.  x,  13.). 


94  ESTHER  BEFORE   THE   KING. 


II.— A  BOLD   FAITH. 


Esther's  message  to  Mordeeai  did  not  move  liim  from  liis  purpose 
that  she  should  go  into  the  king  and  make  supplication  for  the 
doomed  people.  We  cannot  but  believe  that  he  saw  all  the  difficul- 
ties of  her  position,  and  that  he  felt  for  her,  too,  for  he  loved  her 
"as  his  own  child,"  and  we  may  therefore  suppose  better  than  his 
own  life  ;  but  the  case  as  it  stood  against  the  people  of  God  was  a 
desperate  one,  and  it  was  necessary  that  all  softness  of  feeling  and 
weakness  of  action  be  put  aside.  Therefore  he  sent  back  a  message 
to  Esther  which  may  seem  at  first  sight  a  little  heartless  and  unnec- 
essarily stern. 

1.  No  refuge  in  selfishness. — "Think  not  with  thyself  that 
thou  shalt  escape  in  the  king's  house,  more  than  all  the  Jews."  It 
is  not  clear  that  Mordeeai  suspected  Esther  of  selfishly  drawing  back 
from  the  dreadful  task  which  had  been  imposed  upon  her ;  but  at 
the  same  time  he  warned  her  that  there  would  be  no  refuge  for  her 
in  any  selfish  motive  or  scheme  which  she  might  propose.  She 
might  indeed  perish  if  she  went  into  the  king ;  she  certainly  would 
if  she  did  not.  God  has  made  us  each  "the  keeper  of  our  brethren," 
and,  when  there  is  any  opportunity  before  us  of  helping  them,  he 
holds  us  responsible  for  their  lives  if  we  draw  back  from  embracing 
it.  "If  thou  faint  in  the  day  of  adversity,  thy  strength  is  small. 
If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  them  that  are  drawn  unto  death,  and  those 
that  are  ready  to  be  slain ;  if  thou  sayest,  Behold,  we  knew  it  not ; 
doth  not  he  that  pondereth  the  heart  consider  it?"  (Prov.  xxiv,  10- 
12.)  'Tor  whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  whosoever 
will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it."  (Matt,  xvi,  25.)  To 
withhold  one's  life  in  such  a  crisis  from  the  people  of  God  was  to 
withhold  it  from  God ;  and  to  give  or  even  to  risk  life  for  the  people 
of  God  who  were  in  such  peril  was  to  give  it  for  Christ's  sake.  To 
deny  one's  self,  take  up  one's  cross  and  follow  Jesus,  who  gave  him- 
self for  us  and  became  obedient  even  unto  death,  is  to  be  his  dis- 
ciple indeed.  But  this  law  holds  also  good  in  all  the  lesser  crises 
of  life.  Selfishness  is  always  certain  in  the  end  to  bring  disas- 
ter and  loss  upon  us,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  unselfishness  is  cer- 
tain to  triumph  in  the  end.  It  was  pre-eminently  so  in  the  present 
example. 

2.  Mordecai's  great  faith. — Mordecai's  second  argument  with 
Esther  was  based  on  his  faith  in  God.  Though  he  does  not  mention 
God  in  his  message,  he  plainly  implies  his  faith  in  him  in  respect  of 


A  BOLD   FAITH.  95 

the  deliverance  that  woiild  certainly  come  to  the  people.  "  For  if 
thou  altogether  holdest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then  shall  there  en- 
largement" (a  "breathing  time)  "and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews 
from  another  place."  Mordecai  had  evidently  some  of  God's  great 
promises  in  his  mind.  "Surely  there  is  no  enchantment  against 
Jacob,  neither  is  there  any  divination  against  Israel :  according  to 
this  time  it  shall  be  said  of  Jacob  and  of  Israel,  What  hath  God 
"wrought!"  (Num.  xxiii,  23;  I.  Sam.  xii,  22;  Is.  liv,  17.)  More- 
over, he  warned  her  that  in  the  deliverance  which  he  felt  confident 
God  would  bring  to  the  Jews,  she  and  her  father's  house  would  per- 
ish if  she  failed  in  the  duty  which  was  manifestly  laid  upon  her  at 
this  time.  Mordecai  would  thrust  his  beloved  niece  into  the  very 
jaws  of  death,  and  did  so  with  a  strong  hand,  because  he  saw  in  her 
position  the  hand  of  God.  He  would  not  have  her  shirk  her  duty, 
even  though  it  brought  death  to  her — like  the  old  Spartan  mothers, 
who  sent  forth  their  sons  to  battle,  with  the  injunction  not  to  return 
without  their  shields,  either  bringing  them  back  as  victors  or  being 
brought  back  on  them  as  evidence  that  they  had  died  bravely  for 
their  country.  Mordecai's  love  was  more  than  a  Spartan  love,  it 
was  the  love  of  a  pious  and  patriotic  Hebrew. 

3.  Mordecai's  belief  in  Providence. — His  third  argument  with 
Esther  was  one  that  showed  his  belief  in  the  special  providence  of 
God  in  bringing  her  to  the  high  place  she  was  now  occupying  for 
just  this  very  purpose.  "And  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come 
to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this  ? "  This  was  uttered  in  a 
more  tender  and  persuasive  tone.  He  would  have  her  see  her  high 
calling,  recognize  the  hand  of  God  in  her  present  position,  and  be 
worthy  of  the  honor,  of  her  race,  and  of  her  present  opportunity. 
In  every  place  we  occupy  God  has  put  us,  and  in  that  place,  whether 
high  or  low,  there  is  certain  to  come  some  great  opportunity,  which, 
if  "we  take  it  at  the  flood,"  will  lead  us  on  to  great  deeds  of  faith. 
The  little  Jewish  maid  who  was  a  captive  in  the  hands  of  her  ene- 
mies did  as  great  a  deed  of  faith  when  she  opened  the  way  for 
Naaman  the  Syrian  to  go  to  Elisha  to  be  cured  of  his  leprosy  as  did 
Esther,  the  favorite  queen  of  the  Persian  king,  when  at  the  risk  of 
her  life  she  saved  her  people  from  destruction ;  not  so  tragic,  but 
as  real  an  act  of  faith,  for  God  regards  our  doings  according  to  the 
opportunity  and  motive,  and  not  according  to  the  greatness  of  re- 
sults or  the  conspicuous  circumstances  which  surround  them. 


96  ESTHER  BEFORE   THE   KING. 


III.— ESTHER'S  PIETY  AND   HEROISM. 

"When  Esther  received  Mordecai's  third  message  (just  detailed), 
and  had  considered  all  his  words,  her  indecision  came  to  an  end. 
In  a  moment  she  had  taken  up  her  purpose  and  made  her  plan. 

1.  Her  piety. — She  did  not  propose  to  run  rashly  to  her  task, 
but  reverently.  She  sent  word  to  Mordecai  to  gather  the  Jews  to- 
gether for  a  three  days'  fast,  and  added  that  she  and  her  maidens 
would  also  observe  a  like  fast.  There  is  indeed  no  mention  of  God 
or  prayer  here,  but  both  are  implied.  She  would  humble  herself 
before  God  and  seek  his  favor ;  no  doubt,  on  the  part  of  Mordecai 
and  the  Jews  in  the  city,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  Esther  and  her 
maidens,  there  was  the  usual  confession  of  sin  and  prayer.  (Neh. 
i,  4 ;  Dan.  ix,  4. )  Whether  it  is  for  doing  or  daring,  such  a  prepara- 
tion is  most  pious,  and  surely  helpful.  It  quiets  the  mind  and  brings 
us  into  communion  with  God,  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord  as  well  as 
the  joy  of  the  Lord  becomes  our  strength.  Luther  used  to  say,  if 
he  had  but  three  days  in  which  to  do  a  thing  for  God,  he  would 
spend  two  of  them  in  prayerful  preparation  for  it. 

2.  Her  heroism. — Sending  her  answer  to  Mordecai,  she  an- 
nounced to  him  her  purpose  and  determination.  "  So  will  I  go  in 
unto  the  king,  which  is  not  according  to  the  law ;  and  if  I  perish,  I 
perish."  Like  Paul,  she  no  longer  counted  her  life  dear  to  herself, 
and  was  ready  to  die  for  Christ's  sake.  (Acts  xx,  24;  xxi,  13.) 
This  is  one  of  the  most  pathetic  as  well  as  brave  speeches  on  record. 
It  was  neither  despair  nor  fatalism,  but  the  deliberate  determination 
to  offer  up  her  life  on  the  altar  of  her  duty  to  God  and  to  her  people. 
In  our  way  we  may  be  as  brave  in  the  discharge  of  our  duty.  If  we 
go  from  the  presence  of  the  Great  King  we  need  not  fear  to  go  into 
the  presence  of  any  earthly  one,  even  though  we  take  our  life  in  our 
hand.  Mordecai  was  satisfied.  His  noble  niece  had  not  failed  or 
disappointed  him.  He  was  glad,  and  went  his  way  to  proclaim  and 
hold  the  fast  with  the  Jews. 


IV.— ESTHER    TRIUMPHANT. 

After  the  fast  Esther  went  in  before  the  king,  and  having  ap- 
peared there  she  was  received  with  favor  and  won  her  cause. 

1.  In  royal  apparel. — Esther  had  not  of  late  been  in  favor  with 
the  king.  Her  task  was  a  hard  one,  and  the  risks  great ;  but  her 
woman's  wit  did  not  fail  her.     Instead  of  putting  on  sackcloth  and 


ESTHER   TRIUMPHANT.  97 

ashes  she  arrayed  herself  splendidly  ''in  royal  apparel."  She  dressed 
herself  with  scrupulous  care,  so  that  she  might  appear  before  the 
king  in  a  way  most  calculated  to  charm  and  delight  him.  It  is  not 
difl&cult  to  suppose  that  when  Esther  appeared  in  the  inner  court  of 
the  king's  house  and  in  the  presence  of  her  august  master  and  hus- 
band, she  was  a  vision  of  loveliness.  Her  beauty,  her  grace,  and 
her  sweetness,  all  enhanced  by  the  care  and  elegance  of  her  dress, 
captivated  the  king's  admiration  and  immediately  won  his  favor.  It 
is  even  so  that  we  must  come  before  the  King  of  heaven,  arrayed 
in  royal  apparel,  but  that  apparel  is  the  blood-washed  garment  of 
Christ's  righteousness.  The  vilest  sinner  is  lovely  in  the  eyes  of  God 
when  he  comes  thus  arrayed  (Ezek.  xvi,  14),  and  to  such  an  one  the 
golden  scepter  is  certain  to  be  stretched  out. 

2.  The  golden  scepter. — As  soon  as  the  king  saw  who  it  was 
and  how  she  was  arrayed,  the  golden  scepter  was  presented  to  her, 
and  she  touched  the  top  of  it  in  acknowledgment  of  the  mercy  shown 
her.  Not  only  was  her  life  given  her,  but  the  utmost  of  her  request 
granted  in  oriental  style,  "even  to  the  half  of  the  king's  kingdom." 
So  are  we  accepted,  and  guaranteed  that,  ask  what  we  will,  it  shall 
be  granted  unto  us.  God's  scepter  is  one  of  royal  power,  of  royal 
mercy  and  ffvor,  and  of  royal  bounty.  Esther's  approach  into  the 
presence  of  the  king  carried  a  risk  with  it — she  was  accepted,  for 
her  own  personal  beauty  and  according  to  the  caprice  of  a  tyrannical 
oriental  monarch ;  but  when  the  sinner  comes  into  God's  presence 
clothed  in  the  name  of  Christ,  he  comes  with  an  absolute  certainty 
of  success,  based  on  the  eternal  purpose  of  God's  grace,  guaranteed 
by  the  finished  work  of  Christ,  and  warranted  by  his  oath-bound 
word.  To  such  an  one  God  says  :  "  Thou  art  accepted,  and  all  things 
in  Christ  are  yours." 


XII. 

THE  VANITY  OF   IDOLS.— Isaiah  xliv,  9-20, 

(9)  They  that  make  a  graven  image  are  all  of  them  vanity;  and  their 
delectable  things  shall  not  profit ;  and  they  are  their  own  witnesses ;  they 
see  not,  nor  know;  that  they  may  be  ashamed.  (10)  Who  hath  formed  a 
god,  or  molten  a  graven  image  that  is  profitable  for  nothing?  (11)  Behold, 
all  his  fellows  shall  be  ashamed ;  and  the  workmen,  they  are  of  men :  let 
them  all  be  gathered  together,  let  them  stand  up ;  yet  they  shall  fear,  and 
they  shall  be  ashamed  together.  (12)  The  smith  with  the  tongs  both  work- 
eth  in  the  coals,  and  fashioneth  it  with  hammers,  and  worketh  it  with  the 
strength  of  his  arms :  yea,  he  is  hungry,  and  his  strength  f aileth :  he  drink- 
eth  no  water,  and  is  faint.  (13)  The  carpenter  stretcheth  out  his  rule ;  he 
marketh  it  out  with  a  line ;  he  fitteth  it  with  planes,  and  he  raarketh  it  out 
with  the  compass,  and  maketh  it  after  the  figure  of  a  man,  according  to  the 
beauty  of  a  man;  that  it  may  remain  in  the  house.  (14)  He  heweth  him 
down  cedars,  and  taketh  the  cypress  and  the  oak,  which  he  strengtheneth 
for  himself  among  the  trees  of  the  forest :  he  planteth  an  ash,  and  the  rain 
doth  nourish  it.  (15)  Then  shall  it  be  for  a  man  to  burn :  for  he  will  take 
thereof,  and  warm  himself;  yea,  he  kindleth  it,  and  baketh -tread;  yea,  he 
maketh  a  god,  and  worshippeth  it ;  he  maketh  it  a  graven  image,  and  fall- 
eth  down  thereto.  (16)  He  burneth  part  thereof  in  the  fire ;  with  part  there- 
of he  eateth  flesh ;  he  roasteth  roast,  and  is  satisfied :  yea,  he  warmeth  him. 
self,  and  saith.  Aha,  I  am  warm,  I  have  seen  the  fire :  (17)  And  the  residue 
thereof  he  maketh  a  god,  even  his  graven  image :  he  f aileth  down  unto  it, 
and  worshippeth  it,  and  prayeth  unto  it,  and  saith.  Deliver  me ;  for  thou 
art  my  god.  (18)  They  have  not  known  nor  understood :  for  he  hath  shut 
their  eyes,  that  they  cannot  see ;  and  their  hearts,  that  they  cannot  under- 
stand. (19)  And  none  considereth  in  his  heart,  neither  is  there  knowledge 
nor  understanding  to  say,  I  have  burned  part  of  it  in  the  fire ;  yea,  also  I 
have  baked  bread  upon  the  coals  thereof ;  I  have  roasted  flesh,  and  eaten 
it:  and  shall  I  make  the  residue  thereof  an  abomination?  shall  I  fall  down 
to  the  stock  of  a  tree?  (20)  He  feedeth  on  ashes:  a  deceived  heart  hath 
turned  him  aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say,  Is  there  not  a  lie 
in  my  right  hand?— Isaiah  xliv,  9-20. 

I  am  writing  in  a  country  where  for  centuries  the  worship  of  idols 
has  prevailed  among  the  millions  of  people  who  inhabit  the  land ; 
where  the  whole  system  of  idol  worship  has  so  utterly  besotted  and 
blinded  the  minds  of  their  devotees,  that  otherwise  intelligent, 
acute,  and  even  profound  minds  seem  incapable  of  discerning  be- 
tween the  work  of  their  own  hands  and  the  God  who  made  them. 
The  people  en  masse  are  sunken  into  a  degradation  of  superstition 
and  moral  filth  which  almost  passes  belief.    Thus  surrounded,  I  can 

98 


THE   VANITY   OF   IDOLS.  99 

in  a  deeper  way  appreciate  the  force  both  of  the  reasoning  and  sar- 
casm of  the  great  prophet  of  Israel  in  his  scathing  exposures  and 
denunciations  of  idols,  and  enter  into  the  indignation  which  he  feels 
against  a  people  whose  God  is  Jehovah,  for  surrendering  themselves 
to  this  God-dishonoring  and  soul-destroying  worship.  I  am  sure  the 
people  at  home  can  have  but  little  idea  of  the  frightful  ruin  that  idol- 
worship  has  wrought  among  these  millions  of  people,  and  how  utterly 
idolatry  has  enslaved  and  degraded  the  intellectual  as  well  as  the 
moral  perception  of  the  people.  It  has  spread  such  a  pall  over  the 
whole  land,  and  the  mental  and  moral  darkness  is  so  dense,  that 
even  the  European,  and,  I  may  say,  even  the  Christian  element  of 
the  population  out  here  feels  its  deadly  pressure.  What  a  London 
fog  is  to  the  outward  man  that  attempts  to  walk  through  it,  so  are 
idolatry  and  the  whole  intellectual  and  moral  life  which  has  sprung 
up  and  for  centuries  flourished  under  the  patronage  of  idols  to  those 
who  live  and  move  in  this  country.  I  have  often  wondered,  while 
reading  the  account  of  Israel's  apostasy  from  God  to  idols,  how  such 
a  people  (how,  indeed,  any  people  capable  of  thinking  and  reason- 
ing) could  be  led  away  into  the  wild  and  fanatical  devotion  to  idols 
which  characterized  them.  While  the  abstract  problem  is  as  great 
as  ever,  the  fact  of  the  power  of  idolatry  is  as  patent  in  this  land 
as  it  was  in  Israel.  The  people  of  God  at  home  should  not  cease  to 
pray  for  the  destruction  of  idolatry  out  of  the  world.  It  is  a  real 
and  monstrous  fact,  and  stands  directly  in  the  way  of  the  progress 
of  the  Gospel.  So  great  is  the  strange  fascination  or  infatuation 
which  it  has  wrought  upon  the  people  that  there  are  thousands  of 
highly  cultivated  natives  in  this  land  who  will  frankly  admit  the 
utter  absurdity  of  idol-worship,  and  its  necessarily  degrading  in- 
fluence upon  the  people,  and  yet  go  slavishly  to  the  temples  and  bow 
down  to  these  stocks  and  stones,  and  submit  to  all  the  absurd  and 
monstrous  rites  prescribed  by  the  priests. 

The  sin  of  idolatry  had  culminated  in  Israel,  and  the  time  of 
their  punishment  for  their  great  and  persistent  apostasy  was  draw- 
ing near.  Isaiah  had  seen  and  prophesied  their  captivity,  but  was 
now  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  speak  to  them  some  words  of  com- 
fort based  on  the  faithfulness  of  God  concerning  future  blessings  in 
store  for  them,  when  God  should  pour  upon  them  again  his  Spirit, 
as  "  floods  upon  the  dry  ground " ;  and  the  ancient  and  restored 
people  should  "  spring  up  as  among  the  grass  and  as  willows  by  the 
water  courses  "  ;  and  how  even  the  heathen  among  whom  they  had 
been  dispersed,  the  very  idolaters  themselves  whose  sins  they  had 
imitated — when  they  beheld  the  favor  of  their  God,  would  make 


100  THE  VANITY   OF   IDOLS. 

haste  to  ally  themselves  to  Jehovah  and  call  themselves  by  his  name, 
(vs.  3-5.)  God  affirms  his  eternal  existence,  as  being  the  "first  and 
the  last,"  their  Creator,  their  Redeemer,  and  their  King,  and  calls 
upon  them  to  remember  that  they  are  witnesses  to  the  fact  that  he 
is  the  only  and  solitary  God  in  the  universe,  and  has  proved  himself 
so  by  the  prophecies  he  had  given  them  and  by  having  fulfilled  them 
to  the  very  letter.  Their  own  punishment  was  a  fulfillment  of  proph- 
ecy. This  test  he  defies  the  idolaters  to  submit  to,  and,  because 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  prophecy  and  its  fulfillment  among  idols, 
shows  how  utterly  absurd  it  is  for  his  people  to  allow  themselves  to 
be  mixed  up  with  it.  "  Ye  are  even  my  witnesses.  Is  there  a  God 
beside  me?  yea,  there  is  no  God."     (v.  8.) 

He  gives  them  another  proof  of  his  Godhead,  as  well  as  his  faith- 
fulness to  them  whom  he  had  taken  into  covenant  with  himself  (v. 
28),  in  the  prophecy  concluding  this  chapter  in  connection  with 
Cyrus,  who,  two  hundred  years  hence,  should  set  them  free  from 
their  impending  captivity. 

The  reasons  given  for  this  address  (in  which  the  being  and  faith- 
fulness of  God  is  contrasted  with  the  vanity  of  idols)  may  be  found 
in  part,  that :  (i)  They  need  not  hope  in  any  other  God  beside  him. 
(ii)  They  need  not  fear  any  other  God  beside  him.  (iii)  That  dur- 
ing their  coming  and  long  captivity  they  might  comfort  themselves 
with  his  promises,  being  themselves  witnesses  to  the  fact  that  what 
he  promises  and  foretells  he  is  able  to  fulfill,  (iv)  That  thus 
strengthened  they  might  be  able  to  resist  the  temptations  to  which 
they  would  be  peculiarly  exposed  in  a  land  to  which  they  were  about 
to  be  carried  and  which  was  wholly  given  up  to  idol-worship,  with- 
out the  help  to  them  of  their  Temple  and  outward  forms  of  worship. 

I.— THE  SENSELESS  FOLLY  OF  IDOLATRY. 

In  verses  nine  to'  eleven  the  prophet  challenges  the  idolaters 
(both  the  makers  and  the  worshipers  of  idols)  to  clear  or  defend 
themselves,  if  they  can,  from  the  charge  of  senselessness  and  folly 
in  connection  with  their  vanities. 

1.  The  senselessness  of  them  that  make  idols. — "They  that 
make  a  graven  image  are  all  of  them  vanity."  That  is,  they  prove 
themselves  to  be  either  "empty"  of  sense,  or  in  a  state  of  such 
mental  chaos  as  to  prove  themselves  little,  if  any,  better  than  idiots. 
Jeremiah  charges  the  same  folly  upon  them  when  he  says  that 
"  every  man  is  brutish  by  his  knowledge  " — that  is,  the  pretended 
knowledge  which  leads  men  to  make  idols  is  more  senseless  and  un- 


THE   SENSELESS  FOLLY  OF   IDOLATRY.  101 

reasoning  than  the  knowledge  that  brutes  possess.  ' '  Every  founder  " 
(or  maker)  "is  confounded  by  the  graven  image  :  for  his  molten  im- 
age is  falsehood,  and  there  is  no  breath  in  them."  (Jer.  li,  17.)  To 
ascribe  creation  and  power  to  a  stock  and  stone  which  has  been 
hewn  or  carved  out  by  man's  hands  from  the  very  materials  of  crea- 
tion, and  to  worship  such  a  thing,  is  itself  a  proof  of  the  derange- 
ment of  the  mind.  Paul,  when  he  was  debating  with  the  learned 
and  cultivated  Athenians,  said  the  same  thing :  "  God  that  made  the 
world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing  that  he  is  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands ;  neither  is  wor- 
shiped with  men's  hands,  as  though  he  needed  anything,  seeing 
he  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things.  .  .  .  Forasmuch 
then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to  think  that  the 
Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and 
man's  device."  (Acts  xvii,  24,  25,  29.)  What  can  be  a  greater  ab- 
surdity than  this,  that  they  who  should  know  that  they  are  made  by 
God,  make  gods  themselves. 

2.  The  profitlessness  of  idols. — '^And  their  delectable  things 
shall  not  profit."  The  idols  which  they  have  made,  which  they  wor- 
ship, and  in  which  they  take  such  delight,  on  which  they  bestow  their 
wealth,  and  to  whom  they  pour  out  their  homage,  to  whom  they 
pray,  and  to  whom  they  ascribe  blessings,  are  practically  profitless 
to  them.  They  never  lift  their  hands  to  help ;  their  ears  cannot 
hear,  their  eyes  cannot  see  them.  In  time  of  trouble  they  cannot 
deliver  them.  The  demonstration  of  this  was  made  by  Elijah  on 
Mt.  Carmel  when  he  summoned  the  prophets  of  Baal  to  the  supreme 
test,  and  there  mocked  them  with  the  profitlessness  of  their  idols. 
(I.  Kings  xviii,  27-29.)  So  we  may  say  of  all  those  false  resources 
to  which  men  resort  wiio  turn  their  backs  upon  God.  "  Wherefore 
do  ye  spend  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread?  and  your  labor  for 
that  which  satisfieth  not?"     (Is.  Iv,  2.) 

3.  They  are  their  own  witnesses. — God  has  his  witnesses  in 
his  people,  (v.  8.)  Their  whole  history  shows  that  their  God  was  a 
living  God,  declaring  his  will,  foretelling  all  events  appertaining  to 
them,  giving  innumerable  promises,  and  fulfilling  them  all  to  the 
letter.  Now  the  idolaters  are  in  like  manner  tJieir  own  witnesses. 
When  did  ever  an  idol  foretell  an  event?  When  did  an  idol  ever 
make  a  promise  and  fulfill  it  ?  When  did  idols  ever-  do  them  any 
good,  e.  g.,  deliver  them  out  of  any  trouble  when  they  called  upon 
them?  I  have  often  challenged  the  idolaters  of  this  land  on  these 
points,  and  they  are  all  constrained  to  confess  that  the  idol  is  dumb, 
and  dead,  and  powerless  to  help.     Let  the  condition  of  the  land,  the 


102  THE  VANITY  OF  IDOLS. 

degradation  of  the  people,  their  recent  subjugation  to  a  handful  of 
people  who  are  the  worshipers  of  the  true  God,  testify  to  their  folly. 

4.  They  are  willfully  blind  and  ignorant. — "  They  see  not, 
nor  know."  One  of  the  effects  of  idolatry  is  that  it  has  completely 
closed  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  simplest  facts,  and  their 
hearts  to  the  simplest  knowledge.  Their  eyes  and  their  hearts  are 
''smeared  over  with  pitch."  "When  they  knew  God  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their 
imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Professing 
themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools.  .  .  .  Who  changed  the 
truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  worshiped  and  served  the  creature  more 
than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  forever."  (Rom.  i,  21-25.)  This 
same  effect  is  produced  upon  all  those  who  live  not  in  idol-lands  who 
yet  turn  away  from  God.  Their  foolish  hearts  are  darkened.  This 
is  one  of  the  effects  of  sin  and  all  willful  impiety. 

5.  They  are  all  put  to  shame. — In  verses  ten  and  eleven  God 
calls  upon  these  makers  and  worshipers  of  idols  to  stand  up  and  be 
gathered  together  and  defend  themselves,  or  to  make  proof  of  their 
idols.  "They  shall  fear,  and  they  shall  be  ashamed  together." 
Here  again  we  are  reminded  of  that  solemn  challenge  given  by  Elijah 
through  Ahab  to  the  priests  of  Baal  and  of  Jezebel.  What  hap- 
pened to  these  idolaters  on  Mt.  Carmel,  what  subsequently  happened 
to  the  priest  of  Baal  under  the  cruel  reign  of  Jehu,  what  happened 
to  Ahab  and  to  Jezebel,  will  happen  to  all  idolaters.  In  the  day  of 
trial  and  judgment  their  idols  will  not  answer  nor  help  them ;  but 
they  will  together  be  confounded  and  destroyed.  And  this  is  but  a 
type  of  what  will  happen  to  all  infidels  and  unbelievers.  God  suffers 
long  with  sinners,  but  at  last  he  will  gather  them  all  together  and 
give  them  opportunity  to  defend  themselves  and  justify  their  idola- 
trous and  sinful  courses.  This  they  cannot  do.  Then  will  fear  seize 
upon  them  and  confusion  and  destruction  overtake  them. 

II.— IDOLS  AND   IDOL-MAKERS   RIDICULED. 

Having  set  the  solemn  proposition  of  the  sin  and  folly  of  idolatry 
before  them,  the  prophet  now  bursts  out  into  a  strain  of  lofty  satire 
and  ridicule. 

1.  The  manufacture  of  idols  described. — They  are  of  two 
kinds  :  those  made  of  metal  and  those  made  of  wood.  The  makers 
of  these  idols  are  blacksmiths  and  carpenters,  (i)  The  blacksmith. 
With  his  tongs  he  arranges  the  coals  of  his  fire ;  with  his  tools  he 
cuts  off  a  piece  of  iron ;  and  with  his  hammer,  after  heating  it  in  the 


IDOLS  AND   IDOL-MAKERS    RIDICULED.  103 

fire,  he  fashions  it  with  the  strength  of  his  arms.  He  works  hard 
over  it  until  he  is  tired  and  hungry,  and  faint  with  fatigue  and  thirst 
gendered  by  the  heat  of  his  forge.  He  is  making  a  god  to  worship. 
This  man,  who  spends  his  strength  until  he  is  weary,  hungry,  and 
thirsty,  is  able  to  make  a  god.  What  folly !  what  monstrous  ab- 
surdity !  It  is  a  wonder  that  he  does  not  break  out  into  laughter  as 
he  thus  hammers  away  at  his  god,  thrusting  it  into  the  fire  and  tak- 
ing it  out  again.  But  he  is  blinded,  and  knows  not.  Awful  effect 
of  sin !  (ii)  The  carpenter.  The  prophet,  having  described  the 
process  by  which  the  iron  or  metal  gods  are  made,  now  turns  his 
attention  to  the  manufacture  of  the  wooden  gods.  Having  gotten 
his  wood,  he  lays  it  down  and  with  a  rule  he  measures  off  a  piece 
according  to  the  size  he  intends  making  the  god ;  with  a  piece  of 
red  chalk  and  a  line  he  marks  out  a  rude  outline  of  its  form ;  then 
with  his  plane  he  cuts  away  the  superfluous  wood,  and  guided  by 
his  compass,  which  helps  him  to  mark  out  the  curves  of  the  figure, 
he  proceeds  with  his  work.  He  fashions  it  after  the  image  of  man. 
This  indeed  is  the  best  and  highest  image  he  can  find,  and  so  far  he 
does  well.  But  what  folly  !  His  god  is  like  to  a  beautiful  man  ;  but 
after  all,  a  man  in  the  height  of  his  beauty  is  but  a  poor,  weak,  sin- 
ful, and  dying  creature  ;  yet  this  is  to  be  his  god.  Not  even  a  man, 
but  only  the  image  of  a  man  made  out  of  wood.  God  indeed  put 
honor  upon  man  when  he  made  his  moral  nature  after  his  own  moral 
image ;  but  now  man  puts  dishonor  upon  God  when  he  makes  him 
''  in  respect  of  bodily  parts  and  members  "  after  the  image  of  a  man, 
and  then  sets  it  up  in  his  house  or  in  a  temple  and  worships  it. 

2.  The  source  of  the  material  out  of  which  the  idol  is  made. 
— Still  further  to  expose  this  hideous  folly,  the  prophet  takes  us  out 
of  the  carpenter's  shop  and  leads  us  into  the  forest  where  he  gets  his 
material.  Here  the  idol-maker  selects  a  tall  cedar,  cypress,  or  an 
oak,  which  he  has  before  trained  to  straightness  for  this  purpose,  or 
which  itself  may  be  fairer  and  straighter  than  the  other  trees.  He 
at  least  selects  the  best  material  of  the  forest.  Or  possibly  he  has 
planted  an  ash  tree  himself  and  bestowed  upon  it  some  careful  cult- 
ure, accepting  the  very  rain  which  God  sends  upon  the  earth  to 
contribute  to  its  growth.  Out  of  these  trees  he  is  to  get  material 
with  which  to  make  a  god,  to  whom  he  will  ascribe  the  power  of  rain 
and  life.  That  is,  he  turns  the  effect  into  the  cause,  and  declares 
the  tree  that  God  has  made  is  the  god  that  made  the  tree.  The  tree 
which  is  indeed  useful  for  fire-wood  (and  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  does  use  for  that  purpose  to  bake  his  bread  with)  he  converts  by 
the  skill  and  art  of  his  own  hand  into  the  god  before  which  he  falls 


104  THE   VANITY   OF   IDOLS. 

dowfL  and  worships.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  does  not  sanctify  the 
whole  tree :  he  first  cuts  it  down;  then  he  takes  a  part  of  it;  with 
its  limbs  and  branches,  and  the  chips  which  have  fallen  from  his 
ax,  chisel,  and  plane,  he  kindles  his  fire,  with  which  to  roast  his  meat 
and  warm  himself  by.  Nay,  he  eats  the  flesh  which  he  has  roasted 
with  a  part  of  this  tree,  and  warms  himself  by  the  fire  he  has  made 
out  of  it,  and  delights  himself  with  this  warmth  ;  and  even  when  he 
seeks  the  springing  flame  he  draws  near  to  it  and  congratulates  him- 
self on  its  cheerful  aspect  and  genial  heat,  and  says :  "  Aha,  I  am 
warm,  1  have  seen  the  fire."  Thus  the  tree  out  of  which  he  is  mak- 
ing or  has  made  his  god  he  actually  uses  as  his  servant  to  prepare 
his  food  and  warm  his  body.  He  reduces  it  to  ashes,  consuming  it 
with  fire.  And  yet  with  the  residue  of  this  tree,  with  a  part  of 
which  he  has  cooked  his  food  and  warmed  his  body,  '^he  maketh  a 
god,"  even  a  graven  image  :  ''  he  falleth  down  unto  it,  and  worshipeth 
it,  and  prayeth  unto  it,  and  saith,  'Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my 
god.'"  It  is  said  that  Diagoras  of  Melos,  a  scholar  of  Democritus, 
cast  a  wooden  statue  of  Hercules  into  the  fire  and  said  mockingly : 
"  Come,  Hercules,  and  perform  thy  thirteenth  labor,  and  help  me  to 
cook  these  turnips."  Even  the  heathen  poets  used  to  upbraid  the 
idolaters  of  the  western  world  with  the  folly  of  their  idolatry.  So 
Horace,  in  his  first  satire  : 

"  In  days  of  yore  our  godsbip  stood 
A  very  worthless  log  of  wood, 
The  joiner  doubting,  or  to  shape  us 
Into  a  stool  or  a  Priapus, 
At  length  resolved,  for  reasons  wise, 
Into  a  god  to  bid  us  rise. " 

Another  of  them  threatens  the  idol  to  whom  he  had  committed 
the  custody  of  his  woods  that,  if  he  did  not  preserve  them  to  be  fuel 
for  his  fire,  he  should  himself  be  made  use  of  for  that  x3urpose  : 

"  Drive  the  plunderers  away  and  preserve  the  wood  for  thy  master's 
hearth,  or  thou  thyself  shall  be  converted  into  fuel. ' ' 

One  of  the  effects  of  missionary  teaching  out  here  in  India  was 
related  to  me  by  a  missionary.  A  little  girl  who  had  been  in  a  mis- 
sion-school had  been  taught  the  folly  of  idolatry :  that  idols  were 
but  stocks  of  wood,  and  had  no  power  either  to  do  them  good  or 
harm.  The  lesson  had  dwelt  in  the  child's  mind,  so  that  one  day, 
taking  a  little  companion  with  her,  she  went  to  one  of  the  many 
wayside  shrines  in  which  there  was  a  small  wooden  idol.  The  chil- 
dren drew  near  to  it,  and,  standing  by  the  door,  the  pupil  of  the 
mission-school  first  looked  at  it,  made  a  face  at  it,  and  laughed. 


THE  JUDGMENT   UPON   IDOLATRY.  105 

For  a  moment  her  old  superstitious  fear  got  the  better  of  her  and  she 
fled  in  terror.  Finding,  however,  that  the  idol  did  not  pursue,  she 
went  back  and  spat  in  its  face,  then  fled  again.  But  since  this  sec- 
ond and  worst  insult  which  could  be  Dut  upon  it  did  not  arouse  its 
anger,  the  child  and  her  companion  returned,  boldly  entered  the 
shrine,  and  with  her  foot  kicked  over  the  idol  and  sat  down  upon 
it.  This  entirely  confirmed  the  child  in  the  teaching  she  had  re- 
ceived. The  news  of  her  feat  spread  through  the  village,  and  the 
villagers  went  out  to  see,  and  finding  the  idol  prostrate  and  helpless, 
a  great  many  of  them  from  that  moment  gave  up  worshiping  the 
idols,  and  some  of  them  became  Christians. 

III.— THE   JUDGMENT   UPON   IDOLATRY. 

The  prophet  points  out  two  judgments  upon  this  wretched  folly, 
effects  rising  out  of  it  rather  than  being  visited  upon  them  from 
without. 

1.  They  become  blind  and  senseless  to  their  own  folly. — 
"  They  have  not  known  nor  understood ;  for  he  hath  shut  their  eyes, 
that  they  cannot  see ;  and  their  hearts,  that  they  cannot  understand." 
They  have  lost  the  power  of  reason  in  this  matter.  They  cannot  see 
the  inconsistency  and  folly,  the  blind  idiocy,  of  taking  a  tree  and 
with  part  cooking  their  food  and  making  a  fire  to  warm  themselves, 
and  with  the  residue  making  an  idol  before  which  they  bow  down 
and  worship.  Having  deliberately  committed  themselves  to  this 
folly  (when  first  they  knew  it  to  be  folly),  God  has  allowed  the  folly 
to  work  its  ruin  upon  their  intellectual  and  moral  nature.  "And 
even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave 
them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are  not 
convenient."     (Rom.  i,  28.) 

2.  They  are  left  to  feed  on  ashes.— Instead  of  getting  any 
good  out  of  their  worship,  which,  if  it  were  directed  to  the  true  God, 
would  bring  them  blessings  and  pleasure,  they  are  left  to  feed  on 
ashes.  All  the  real  good  has  gone  out  of  their  life  and  out  of  the 
common  blessings  of  God's  providence,  and  they  get,  as  it  were,  but 
the  ashes  of  things. 

3.  They  live  with  a  lie  in  their  right  hand. — Having  willingly 
lent  themselves  to  these  delusions  and  persisted  in  them,  their  hearts 
have  become  deceived  with  their  own  deceivings,  and  they  become 
powerless  to  free  themselves  from  it,  and  continue  to  live  with  a  lie 
in  their  right  hand.  Is  not  idolatry  a  lie?  Is  it  not  apparent  to  all 
men  of  sense?     Nay,  these  idolaters  even  admit  it  themselves,  and 


106  THE   VANITY   OF   IDOLS. 

yet  they  persist  in  it.  Is  it  not  so  with  all  men  who  willingly  live  in 
sin?  They  know  it  is  sin,  yet  they  continue  to  live  in  it,  and  so  liv- 
ing they  cannot  get  rid  of  it.  Justifying  themselves,  they  lie,  and 
they  know  it,  and  yet  go  on  living  it.  This  is  the  judgment  of  God 
upon  such  folly, — they  are  left  to  believe  their  lie  and  be  damned 
with  it  still  in  their  hand.  The  lessons  from  idolatry  are  applicable 
to  all  who  are  living  in  known  and  willful  sin.  This  should  be  seri- 
ously laid  to  heart  before  sin  becomes  the  fixed  habit  of  the  soul, 
and  hopelessly  blinds  the  eyes  and  darkens  the  understanding. 


XIII. 

REVIEW   OR   OPTIONAL   LESSON. 


XIV. 

JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS.— Job  ii,   i-io. 

(1)  Again  there  was  a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  them- 
selves before  the  Lord,  and  Satan  came  also  among  them  to  present  him- 
self before  the  Lord.  (2)  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  From  whence 
comest  thou?  And  Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  From  going  to  and 
fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and  down  in  it.  (3)  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Satan,  Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job,  that  there  is  none 
like  him  in  the  earth,  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man,  one  that  f eareth  God, 
and  escheweth  evil?  and  still  he  holdeth  fast  his  integrity,  although  thou 
movedst  me  against  him,  to  destroy  him  without  cause.  (4)  And  Satan  an- 
swered the  Lord,  and  said.  Skin  for  skin,  yea,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he 
givelfor  his  life.  (5)  But  put  forth  thine  hand  now,  and  touch  his  bone  and 
his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse  thee  to  thy  face.  (6)  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Satan,  Behold,  he  is  in  thine  hand;  but  save  his  life.  (7)  So  went  Satan 
forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  smote  Job  with  sore  boils  from 
the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his  crown.  (8)  And  he  took  him  a  potsherd  to 
scrape  himself  withal;  and  he  sat  down  among  the  ashes.  (9)  Then  said 
his  wife  unto  him.  Dost  thou  still  retain  thine  integrity?  curse  God,  and 
die.  (10)  But  he  said  unto  her.  Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the  foolish  women 
speaketh.  What?  shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we 
not  receive  evil?    In  all  this  did  not  Job  sin  with  his  lips.— Job  ii,  1-10. 

By  common  consent  of  all  literary  critics  the  Book  of  Job  is  the 
oldest  and  the  finest  poem  in  the  world.  Both  Gibbon  the  infidel, 
and  Carlyle,  a  master  in  criticism,  agree  that  it  is  the  outstanding 
piece  of  literature  in  the  libraries  of  the  world.  And  yet  it  is  a 
book  that  is  not  much  read  even  by  B^ible  readers ;  perhaps  because 
the  argument  is  difficult  to  follow,  perhaps  because  few  have  come 
to  understand  that,  though  written  in  proverbial  form,  its  argument 
is  sustained  and  continuous  from  beginning  to  end;  and  so  it  ought 
to  be  read  through,  if  not  at  a  single  sitting,  at  least  with  the  re- 
membrance of  what  has  gone  before,  if  it  is  to  be  taken  up  at  inter- 
vals in  the  reading. 

That  Job  was  a  real  person  there  can  be  little  doubt,  though 
some  critics  have  maintained  that  the  whole  book,  characters  and 
all,  is  a  fictitious  work,  designed  to  serve  the  purpose  of  teaching, 
much  as  our  Lord's  parables  did.  Nevertheless  the  facts  that  the 
prophet  Ezekiel  speaks  of  Job  as  a  real  person  (associating  him  with 
Noah  and  Daniel)  (Ezek.  xiv,  14)  and  that  James  refers  to  him  as 
the  great  example  of  patience  (James  v,  11)  would  seem  to  settle 
the  question  of  the  reality  of  his  person  and  character. 


JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS.  109 

The  story  itself  may  be  either  a  literal  history,  or  it  may  be  a 
dramatized  story  based  on  substantial  facts,  much  as  Shakespeare 
has  dramatized  the  histories  of  some  of  the  English  kings.  In  either 
case,  the  story  is  equally  valuable.  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that 
the  story  is  a  true  and  literal  one,  and  that  it  has  been  preserved  by 
the  good  providence  of  God,  and  handed  down  to  us,  first  by  oral  tra- 
dition, and  afterward  put  into  writing  and  made  permanent  by  some 
unknown  author ;  much  as  the  Homeric  tales  have  been  preserved  to 
us,  first  by  oral  tradition,  and  afterward  by  some  great  poet  who  ed- 
ited them  and  wrote  them  out.  It  is  quite  possible  that  in  the  edit- 
ing of  the  traditional  story  of  Job  and  his  friends  the  editor  has  taken 
some  literary  license  and  put  the  whole  into  the  perfect  literary  shape 
in  which  we  have  it. 

Job  himself  was  a  patriarch  of  Uz  and  lived  in  the  middle  age  be- 
tween Abraham  and  Moses  ;  and  the  events  recorded  in  the  book  must 
therefore  have  taken  place  long  before  Moses  wrote  his  law  or  any  of 
the  institutions  of  the  Hebrew  worship  were  known.  The  absence 
of  all  reference  to  any  former  Scripture,  to  Jerusalem,  to  the  law,  or 
to  any  ceremonial  in  connection  with  the  Jewish  economy  is  sufii- 
eient  proof  of  that.  There  is  in  the  whole  of  Job's  utterances  a  con- 
tinual undertone  of  outcry  for  a  revelation,  which  seems  never  to  have 
been  given  up  to  the  time  when  Jehovah  spoke.  The  piety  and  wor- 
ship of  Job  was  either  what  might  be  called  the  highest  type  of  nat- 
ural religion,  or  one  based  on  the  original  traditions  which  had  come 
down  from  Noah.  The  latter  is  the  most  probable.  The  Noachian 
traditions  must  have  still  been  fresh  in  Job's  time,  not  to  speak  of 
the  further  rumors  of  truth  which  had  come  through  Abraham.  The 
book  in  its  present  form  was  probably  written  in  the  later  days  of 
the  Solomonic  age.  That  is,  the  history  recorded  belonged  to  an  age 
about  the  sixteenth  century  before  Christ,  whereas  the  writing  of  the 
history  was  of  date  somewhere  between  the  seventh  and  eighth  cent- 
uries before  Christ.  This  story  had  evidently  been  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  during  seven  or  eight  hundred  years, 
and  then  finally  reduced  to  writing  by  the  hand  of  some  one  whom 
God  no  doubt  guided  and  taught  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 

To  give  an  analysis  of  the  book  is  beyond  our  purpose,  and  would 
require  more  space  than  is  at  our  disposal.  It  is  enough  to  say  for 
the  present  that  the  grand  argument  of  the  book  turns  on  the  rela- 
tion of  affliction  to  sin  in  the  person  of  the  afflicted,  and  on  its  use 
as  an  instrument  for  the  sanctification  and  discipline  of  the  right- 
eous, without  regard  to  special  sin,  or  sins,  committed  by  the  afflicted 
one.      It  has  also  been  called  the  book  of  "individual  discipline 


110  JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS. 

for  the  learning  of  self,"  An  acute  student  of  it  has  also  seen  in  it 
an  allegory  of  man,  or  of  humanity  in  connection  with  trial,  sin,  and 
redemption.  From  this  point  of  view  we  may  study  man  in  Job  un- 
der the  following  heads  :  (i)  Job  the  righteous  man  (Adam)  before 
his  trial,  (ii)  Job  (Adam)  under  trial,  (iii)  Job's  (Adam's)  fall  or 
failure  under  trial,  (iv)  The  failure  of  Experience,  Tradition,  and 
Law  (the  three  friends  who  contended  with  Job)  to  humble  him 
(man),  (v)  Job's  (man's)  self-righteousness,  (vi)  Job  under  reve- 
lation, (vii)  Job  under  God's  direct  and  personal  teaching,  (viii) 
Job  under  conviction  and  repentance,  (ix)  Job  forgiven,  (x)  Job 
restored  and  glorified.  As  the  plan  of  our  studies  does  not  allow  us 
to  go  through  the  whole  book,  but  only  to  '^sample  it,"  we  must  make 
the  best  of  the  four  portions  which  have  been  assigned  to  us. 

I.— THE   SECOND   HEAVENLY  MEETING. 

The  first  six  verses  of  this  chapter  must  be  studied  in  connection 
with  chapter  i,  6-12,  as  they  but  repeat  in  detail  what  happened  in 
both  days,  with  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  second  trial.  We 
are  introduced  by  the  dramatist  into  heaven  itself,  and  are  shown 
what  is  going  on  there.  We  need  not  suppose  this  to  be  a  fancy 
sketch  or  a  mere  bit  of  imagination  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  There 
is  no  reason  why  the  events  here  portrayed  should  not  have  actually 
occurred.  We  know  that  similar  events  are  described  in  other  parts 
of  the  Bible.  (I.  Kings  xxii,  1 9-22 ;  Zech.  iii,  1,  2  ;  Rev.  xii,  9. )  This 
scene  shows  us  a  grand  council  of  the  angels  in  the  presence  of  God. 
Among  them  comes  one  who  is  described  as  the  '^ adversary"  or  the 
''accuser."  The  word  ''Satan"  is  not  properly  a  name,  but  an  ad- 
jective describing  the  angel  to  whom  it  applies,  by  his  chief  charac- 
teristic. From  this  scene  we  are  led  to  believe  that  though  Satan 
was,  and  is,  a  fallen  spirit,  he  still  had  access  then  to  the  presence 
of  God  and  gathered  with  the  other  "sons  of  God"  on  great  occa- 
sions to  worship  or  to  receive  instructions  as  to  ministry.  Here  Sa- 
tan is  seen  as  fallen  but  not  banished,  and  still  obliged  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  God  in  any  ministry  he  might  be  sent  to  perform.  His 
chief  independent  business  seems  to  have  been  that  of  malignity 
"going  to  and  fro  on  the  earth,"  minutely  inspecting  the  doings 
of  men  and  discovering  and  reporting  evil  wherever  he  could  find 
it.  We  may  not  hope  fully  to  understand  all  that  is  intimated  in 
this  dramatic  picture ;  but  some  lessons  seem  certain,  (i)  That 
the  affairs  of  this  earth  are  under  the  observation  of  Heaven ;  and 
that  that  observation  goes  into  the  detail  of  taking  notice  of  indi- 


THE   SECOND   HEAVENLY   MEETING.  Ill 

vidual  men.  (ii)  That  there  are  countless  happy  spirits  whose 
business  seems  to  be  to  minister  to  the  wants  and  necessities  of 
men,  and  to  conduct  them  mysteriously  and  all  unobserved  through 
the  mazes  of  this  life;  in  fact,  '^ ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to 
minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation."  (Heb.  i,  14.) 
That  there  is  also  (or  was  at  that  time)  one  spirit  equal  with  the 
others  in  creation,  who,  though  fallen  from  high  fellowship  with  the 
holy  angels,  was  still  allowed  (or  perhaps  commanded)  to  be  present 
with  them  on  certain  fixed  occasions  to  give  an  account  of  his  doings. 
"And  Satan  came  also"  seems  not  so  much  the  record  of  a  daring 
presumption  as  of  a  fact  orderly  and  expected,  (iii)  That  though 
there  are  doubtless  myriads  of  evil  spirits  in  the  universe,  "  angels 
who  kept  not  their  first  estate,"  there  are  no  equal  powers  contend- 
ing and  struggling  in  perpetual  and  uncertain  conflict  for  the  mas- 
tery of  the  moral  and  material  prizes  of  the  earth  or  the  universe. 
God  is  revealed  to  be  in  supreme  authority  and  power  over  Satan, 
compelling  him  to  give  an  account  of  himself,  and  only  allowing  him 
to  go  to  the  extent  of  his  (God's)  will  in  any  matter.  This  teaches 
that  all  these  ministries,  good  and  evil,  are  alike  compelled  to  work 
together  for  the  final  and  highest  good  of  man.  In  respect  of  Satan 
it  would  seem  that  his  place  among  the  sons  of  God  had  been  for- 
feited or  changed  by  the  time  of  our  Lord,  who  on  one  occasion  ex- 
claimed, "I  saw  Satan  as  lightning  falling  from  heaven."  (Luke  x, 
18.)  Whether  this  was  a  prophetic  vision,  or  one  just  then  taking 
place,  it  is  difficult  to  say ;  but  a  comparison  with  Rev.  xii,  8,  9  would 
suggest  the  former  view.  Whether  Satan  still  has  access  to  the  heav- 
enly places  and  to  the  periodical  audiences  given  to  the  unfallen  an- 
gels, or  whether  he  be  limited  now  to  the  earth  and  the  air  as  the 
'^ God  of  this  world  and  the  Prince  of  the  Power  of  the  Air,"  it  is  still 
certain  that  he  is  under  the  power  of  God,  and  can  go  no  further  in 
his  malignant  enmity  to  man  than  he  is  allowed ;  and  moreover  it  is 
true  that  he  is  so  shorn  of  his  power  in  connection  with  all  believers 
in  Christ  that  the  least  of  them  may  so  '^resist  him"  that  he  "will 
flee  from  them." 

1.  "Whence  comest  thou?" — This  was  the  challenge  of  God 
to  Satan  on  this  occasion.  It  is  in  precisely  the  same  words  as  those 
used  on  a  former  occasion  (i,  7),  and  seems  to  be  a  demand  for  a 
report.  The  reply  of  Satan  to  the  question  is  also  the  same  as  that 
previously  given,  (i,  7.)  "  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and 
from  walking  up  and  down  in  it. "  This  restless  characteristic  of 
Satan  corresponds  with  what  is  said  of  him  in  the  New  Testament, 
where  he  is  described  as  a  "roaring  lion  "  going  "about,  seeking  whom 


112  JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS. 

he  may  devour."  (I.  Pet.  v,  8.)  He  is  a  restless  and  malignant  be- 
ing, and  can  find  no  rest  (Matt,  xii,  43),  and  he  is  envious  of  the 
rest  or  peace  of  any  and  all  other  creatures.  This  "  accuser  "  and 
"  devourer  "  would  soon  make  short  work  of  men  on  the  earth,  were 
he  not  closely  kept  in  check  by  the  all-powerful  hand  of  God.  As  the 
accuser  he  had  been  walking  to  and  fro  and  up  and  down  in  the  earth, 
making  inspection  of  and  narrowly  scrutinizing  the  actions  of  men 
in  order  to  bring  charges  against  them  before  God.  He  can  never 
be  happy  except  in  the  downfall  of  others.  We  are  not  told  of  his 
general  report,  but  the  further  question  put  to  him  would  imply  that 
he  had  made  one  in  respect  of  some  men  whom  he  had  seen  and 
scrutinized.  This  is  still  his  business  and  his  privilege.  But  ''who 
shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  "  That  is,  who  shall 
bring  a  successful  charge  against  a  Christian?  Not  that  Christians 
never  lay  themselves  open  to  serious  charges,  but  ''if  any  man  sin, 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  " ; 
and  "if  we  confess  our  sins  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive" 
them. 

2.  "Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job  ?  " — Once  before 
this  question  or  challenge  had  been  made  to  Satan,  (i,  8. )  It  would 
imply  that  Satan  had  been  bringing  wholesale  charges  against  all  men 
and  denouncing  them  as  being  without  goodness,  and  perhaps  taunt- 
ing even  God  (for  he  is  equal  to  that)  with  the  statement  that  his  pet 
race  of  human  beings  is  a  failure,  and  that  with  man  there  is  no  right- 
eousness. God  had  then  pointed  him  to  Job  as  "a  perfect  man  and 
an  upright,  one  that  feareth  God  and  escheweth  evil."  To  this  Satan 
had  replied  that  Job's  goodness  was  all  the  result  of  selfishness,  and 
that  God  had  blessed  him  above  all  other  men,  filling  him  with  all 
bounties,  and  hedging  him  about,  so  that  evil  could  not  befall  him. 
That  he  feared  God  and  eschewed  evil,  because  that  was  the  more 
profitable  course  to  pursue.  He  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  if  God 
should  take  away  his  good  things  and  withdraw  his  protection.  Job 
would  not  only  cease  to  fear  God  and  follow  after  righteousness, 
but  would  curse  God  to  his  face,  (i,  10,  11.)  In  fact,  Satan  laid 
down  his  fundamental  proposition  in  the  words  :  "  Doth  Job  fear  God 
for  naught?"  In  other  words,  Satan  makes  this  charge  :  That  there 
is  no  goodness  in  man  that  is  not  purely  selfish,  and  that  God  is 
himself  incapable  of  inspiring  in  man  any  feeling  of  unselfish  rever- 
ence, or  motive  for  goodness.  Thus  this  accuser  utters  his  slanders 
no  less  against  man  than  against  God.  God  had  accepted  that  chal- 
lenge, and  permitted  Satan  to  strip  Job  of  all  worldly  and  earthly 
good.     This  he  had  done  (chapter  i),  and  in  answer  to  it  Job,  in- 


THE    SECOND   HEAVENLY   MEETING.  113 

stead  of  "cursing  God,"  had  blessed  liim,  acknowledging  God's 
right  to  take  away  what  he  had  given,  and  that  he  was  as  much  to 
be  praised  for  the  taking  as  for  the  giving,  (i,  20-22.)  Satan's 
accusations  had  been  proved  false.  Now  there  comes  another  day 
in  which  the  heavenly  hosts  meet  and  Satan  gives  in  his  report 
again.  Again  he  is  challenged  with  the  case  of  Job.  God  defends 
and  vindicates  his  servant,  and  expresses  a  degree  of  pity  for  him, 
in  that  he  had  put  him  to  so  sore  and  unmerited  trial.  '^Although 
thou  movedst  me  against  him,  to  destroy  him  without  a  cause,  still 
he  holdeth  fast  his  integrity."  This  was  a  crushing  answer  to 
Satan's  mean  and  jealous  charge  of  supi'eme  selfishness,  and  in  it 
we  also  detect  a  note  of  rejoicing  in  God's  w^ords  on  account  of  the 
integrity  of  his  servant  under  the  sorest  afflictions.  In  this  we  see 
two  things ;  (i)  That  trials  may  come  upon  the  righteous  without  a 
cause — that  is,  without  implying  any  fault  in  them — and  for  higher 
purposes  than  of  mere  chastisement ;  (ii)  that  God  in  heaven  is  glad, 
and  takes  great  joy  in  the  faithfulness  of  his  servants  on  the  earth. 
No  good  deed  done,  no  integrity  kept  under  trial,  without  God  re- 
joicing in  it ! 

3.  "  Skin  for  skin." — To  the  answer  of  God  that  under  trial  Job 
had  kept  his  integrity  and  shown  himself  a  righteous  man  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  and  that  he  feared  God  because  God  was  worthy  of 
being  feared  without  reference  to  good  or  ill  proceeding  from  his 
hands,  Satan  renews  his  attack  against  the  integrity  of  Job,  and 
further  declared  that  all  his  piety  is  purely  and  supremely  selfish, 
and  that  even  now  he  was  more  selfish  in  cleaving  to  God  than  he 
had  been  before.  To  state  his  point  he  uses  an  expression  which 
has  come  to  be  a  proverb :  "  Skin  for  skin ;  yea,  all  that  a  man 
hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  Many  interpretations  of  this  saying 
of  Satan  have  been  suggested ;  but  all  agree  that  it  is  intended  to 
represent  the  thought  that  Job's  integrity  was  still  in  the  nature  of 
a  bargain  with  God.  The  first  part  of  the  saying,  "skin  for  skin," 
means  that  in  barter  Job  got  a  "  hide  "  in  the  protection  which  he  had 
received  from  God,  and  he  gave  a  "hide  "  in  his  external  reverence 
and  religious  fear.  It  is  like  the  old  proverb  which  says,  "  Give  an 
apple  to  him  that  hath  an  orchard."  The  concluding  portion  of 
Satan's  answer  shows  how  deep  and  cruel  is  his  intense  hatred: 
''Yea,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  This  would 
say  that  Job  still  kept  his  integrity  because  God  had  spared  his  life. 
He  could  well  afford  to  lose  all  his  property  and  even  his  children, 
so  long  as  his  own  skin  (or  life)  was  safe;  "but,"  said  Satan,  to 
prove  that  Job's  righteousness  is  after  all  but  a  bargain,  and  that 


114  JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS. 

Ms  selfishness  goes  down  to  the  very  bone,  "  put  forth  thine  hand 
now  and  touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse  thee  to  thy 
face."  Thus  did  Satan  slander  Job,  and  make  his  own  vile  and  self- 
ish mind  the  measure  by  which  he  judged  all  men,  even  the  best. 
He  could  not  understand  how  any  one  could  serve  God  for  naught, 
or  maintain  his  integrity  without  a  selfish  motive,  and  therefore  he 
doubted  Job,  even  though  he  had  already  given  one  great  proof  of 
sincerity.  ^'He,"  said  Satan,  "is  only  holding  on  to  thee  for  the 
sake  of  his  own  life.  "With  that  and  health  he  may  recover  his  pros- 
perity and  hope  for  future  gain ;  therefore  he  holds  fast  his  integ- 
rity. But  take  away  his  health,  touch  his  flesh  and  his  bones,  and 
he  will  fling  thee  out  of  his  mouth,  and  his  integrity  too."  This 
was  the  spirit  of  Satan's  charge  against  Job. 

II.— JOB  DELIVERED  A  SECOND   TIME   FOR  TRIAL. 

For  the  final  good  and  glory  of  Job,  Satan  is  allowed  to  put  forth 
his  hand  upon  his  person,  and  by  the  severest  physical  afflictions  to 
put  his  integrity  once  more  to  the  test. 

1.  *'But  save  his  life." — Job  was  delivered  into  Satan's  hands 
to  do  with  him  what  he  pleased,  only  he  was  not  permitted  to  take 
his  life  away.  Here  we  have  an  intimation  that  sicknesses,  disease, 
and  calamity  may  be  a  part  of  the  devil's  work,  but  that  he  is  very 
limited  in  the  use  of  this  power.  He  may  not  take  life,  or  even 
afflict  with  disease  or  send  other  troubles,  except  by  the  direct  per- 
mission of  God.  This  whole  story  opens  up  a  wonderful  chapter  in 
connection  with  the  subject  of  affliction.  We  know  from  the  Script- 
ures that  God  has  himself  afflicted  people  with  disease  as  a  puni- 
tive measure  (Ex.  xii,  23;  Num.  xi,  33;  xii,  10;  Ps.  cvii,  17-20; 
II.  Sam.  xii,  15 ;  xxiv,  15 ;  II.  Kings  xix,  35) ;  and  here  we  see 
that  he  has  allowed  Satan  to  put  forth  his  hand  and  sorely  afflict 
one  of  his  servants,  in  whom  there  was  no  fault.  Unless,  then,  we 
can  know  the  "secret  of  the  Lord,"  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  deter- 
mine what  afflictions  may  mean.  In  Job's  case  we  see  that  one  of 
his  greatest  difficulties  in  connection  with  it  was  that  he  was  not 
conscious  of  any  wrong-doing. 

2.  Job  smitten  with  boils. — It  is  true  that  Satan's  challenge 
had  stipulated  for  the  actual  taking  of  his  life ;  but  in  that  case  it 
would  not  have  been  possible  to  determine  whether  his  integrity 
would  have  stood  fast.  So  it  was  arranged  that  his  life  should  be 
spared,  though  inside  that  line  Satan  was  allowed  liberty  to  deal 
with  him.     He,  in  the  exercise  of  that  liberty,   "smote  Job  with 


JOB  AND  HIS   WIFE.  115 

sore  boils."  It  is  believed  that  the  disease  with  which  Job  was 
smitten  was  the  worst  form  of  black  leprosy,  called  in  our  day  ele- 
phantiasis. "  Beginning  with  grievous  ulcers,  it  eats  like  a  cancer 
through  the  whole  body,  swelling  the  limbs,  especially  at  the  joints, 
into  monstrous  lumps,  till  they  resemble  the  limbs  of  an  elephant, 
even  at  times  causing  them  to  drop  off  piecemeal."  This  indeed 
was  to  Job  (or  would  be  to  most)  far  worse  than  death.  "  So  that 
my  soul  chooseth  strangling,  and  death  rather  than  my  life."  We 
see  this  once  great,  wealthy,  and  honored  man  stripped  of  all  his 
property,  bereft  at  once  of  all  his  children,  utterly  broken  and  cast 
out,  covered  with  a  loathsome  disease,  sitting  on  a  great  heap  of 
ashes  and  scraping  the  fetid  ulcers  and  discharge  from  his  body — a 
sight  which  made  him  an  object  of  contempt  to  the  people  and  of 
loathing  to  himself.  Moreover,  according  to  the  prevailing  philoso- 
phy, his  present  condition  was  proof  positive  that  he  was,  after  all,  a 
great  sinner,  and  now  his  years  of  hypocrisy  had  been  laid  bare  by 
the  hand  of  the  Almighty. 

III.— JOB  AND  HIS  WIFE. 

Up  to  this  time  the  wife  of  Job  has  not  appeared  on  the  scene. 
We  may  infer  that  she  had  quietly  acquiesced  in  the  first  trial  and 
had  gone  with  her  husband  in  his  sublime  submission ;  but  now  she 
breaks  out  into  a  kind  of  wild  and  passionate  grief,  and  shouts  out 
an  advice  to  the  faithful  servant  which  he  rejects  with  promptness 
and  dignity. 

1.  "Curse  God  and  die." — Great  controversy  has  arisen  among 
interpreters  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  this  advice  of  Job's  wife.  That 
her  heart  was  wrung  with  bitter  grief  at  the  loss  of  her  children  and 
the  sweeping  away  of  their  fortune  and  the  consequent  degradation 
from  their  former  high  and  prominent  position  there  can  be  no 
doubt ;  but  now,  even  worse  than  anything  else  that  had  gone  be- 
fore, she  sees  her  beloved  and  honored  husband  an  object  of  loath- 
ing to  himself  and  of  scorn  and  ridicule  to  all  the  neighbors,  and 
even  the  butt  of  jibes  from  thoughtless  young  men  and  children.  No 
wonder  her  heart  was  swept  with  strong  passion.  Even  if  we  ac- 
cept the  traditional  interpretation,  we  can  hardly  wonder  at  it. 
There  are  three  ways  of  interpreting  the  advice,  and  the  words  will 
bear  any  one  of  the  interpretations  equally  well,  (i)  "  Curse  God 
and  die."  This  is  what  Satan  at  first  said  Job  would  do  under  this 
trial,  and  perhaps  he  too  had  something  to  do  with  inspiring  Job's 
wife  to  suggest  this  course  to  him.     In  this  case  she  would  be  a  fit 


116  JOB'S  AFFLICTIONS. 

representative  of  the  theory  of  Satan.  "  God  has  utterly  forsaken 
you ;  there  is  no  profit  longer  in  holding  fast  to  your  integrity.  The 
battle  is  over,  and  it  has  gone  against  you.  You  cannot  longer  en- 
joy life,  and  life  to  you  is  not  worth  the  living,  nor  to  me  to  have 
you  live  on  in  this  condition  of  loathsome  suffering.  I  love  you  too 
well  to  see  you  survive  your  downfall.  But  when  you  die  fling  your 
curse  at  God,  whom  you  have  so  long  and  so  faithfully  worshiped, 
but  who  has  abandoned  you  and  returned  you  evil  for  good."  (ii) 
"Bless  God  and  die."  The  word  may  be  translated  ''bless"  as  w^ell 
as  "curse."  In  this  case  it  would  seem  either  a  word  counseling 
submission  or  the  most  bitter  irony.  "You  blessed  him  before 
when  he  stripped  you  of  fortune  and  children,  and  he  has  sent  this 
cruel  thing  upon  you ;  you  have  only  to  bless  him  again  and  this 
God  of  yours  will  next  take  your  life  away.  Hasten  the  process." 
(iii)  "Confess  to  God  and  die."  Afflictions,  as  has  been  stated, 
were,  according  to  the  belief  of  that  time,  the  certain  result  of  sins, 
and  were  sent  as  punishment  and  for  correction.  In  the  former 
trial  Job  had  praised  God,  but  had  made  no  confession  of  sin.  Now 
comes  a  second  and  even  worse  cloud  of  afflictions.  It  looked  like 
proof  positive  that  Job  had  been  guilty  of  some  secret  sin  which  he 
was  still  hiding.  Hence  the  advice  of  his  wife  to  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it  before  he  died.  Or  it  might  have  been  advice  which,  if 
taken,  might  be  the  means  of  sparing  his  life.  I  cannot  but  think, 
however,  that  the  sense  is  to  be  found  in  the  two  former  sugges- 
tions. Nor  should  we  be  hasty  in  utterly  condemning  this  woe- 
stricken  wife.  If  her  heart  flamed  up  in  sudden  and  indignant 
passion  against  God,  who  seemed  to  her  to  have  wantonly  afflicted 
her  noble  and  beloved  husband,  it  is  not  very  surprising  considering 
our  frail  human  nature.  It  may  have  been  a  shocking  speech ;  "but 
consider,"  says  an  able  writer,  "to  what  repeated  shocks  it  was  the 
echo."  God  did  not  cast  her  off  for  it,  nor  lay  it  up  against  her,  but 
raised  her  up  with  Job  in  the  end,  and  caused  her  to  be  the  sharer 
again  of  his  honor,  happiness,  and  glory.  Let  us  be  no  less  chari- 
table in  our  judgment  of  her. 

2.  Job's  answer. — There  is  nothing  nobler  in  the  history  of  man 
than  the  reply  of  Job  to  his  despairing  wife.  She  had  unconsciously 
added  to  his  bitterness  and  affliction  by  her  stinging  words,  all  the 
more  so  that  he  loved  her  and  knew  her  true  woman's  love  to  him, 
and  that  it  was  on  his  account  that  she  had  given  way  at  last  to  her 
agony  and  sorrow.  Job's  answer  was  as  gentle  toward  her  as  it  was 
magnificently  noble  toward  God.  It  is  as  though  he  had  said :  "  Thy 
advice  is  not  worthy  of  thee.     Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the  foolish 


JOB   AND   HIS   WIFE.  117 

women  who  have  neither  piety  nor  reason,  and  not  like  thy  true 
self.  Have  we  not  before  talked  this  matter  all  over,  especially  after 
om*  children's  deaths,  and  did  we  not  reach  a  -conclusion  which  we 
both  agreed  to  stand  by?  There  is  great  mystery  in  this  dispensa- 
tion, but  still  we  may  not  doubt  the  goodness  of  God  in  any  case. 
'What?  shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  shall 
we  not  receive  evil  ? ' "  In  this  reply  Job  neither  sinned  with  his  lips 
nor  with  his  heart.  Moreover,  he  completely  refuted  the  sneering 
charge  of  the  devil  that  his  piety  was  a  matter  of  pure  selfishness 
on  his  part,  and  that  God  in  himself,  apart  from  gifts,  could  not  in- 
spire reverence  and  love.  Job  says  here  that  God  is  not  to  be  loved 
and  worshiped  because  of  the  good  he  sends,  nor  abandoned  because 
of  the  evil  he  sends,  but  for  himself  alone,  apart  from  gifts.  A  real 
piety  pierces  these  things  through,  and  takes  hold  on  God.  There 
may  be  mystery  and  agonizing  questionings,  but  God  is  good,  and 
as  such  we  must  cleave  to  him  as  our  only  good  and  refuge.  Neither 
is  good  good  without  God,  nor  is  ill  ill  so  long  as  we  have  God. 
'^  Behold,  we  count  them  happy  which  endure.  Ye  have  heard  of 
the  patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord ;  that  the 
Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  tender  mercy."     (James  v,  11.) 


XV. 

AFFLICTIONS    SANCTIFIED.— Job  v,   17-27. 

(17)  Beliold,  happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth :  therefore  despise 
not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Almighty:  (18)  For  he  maketh  sore,  and 
bindeth  up :  he  woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole.  (19)  He  shall  deliver 
thee  in  six  troubles :  yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch  thee.  (20)  In 
famine  he  shall  redeem  thee  from  death :  and  in  war  from  the  power  of  the 
sword.  (21)  Thou  shalt  be  hid  from  the  scourge  of  the  tongue:  neither 
Shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  destruction  w^hen  it  cometh.  (22)  At  destruction 
and  famine  thou  shalt  laugh :  neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  the  beasts  of 
the  earth.  (23)  For  thou  shalt  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field :  and 
the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at  peace  with  thee.  (24)  And  thou  shalt 
know  that  thy  tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace ;  and  thou  shalt  visit  thy  habita- 
tion, and  shalt  not  sin.  (25)  Thou  shalt  know  also  that  thy  seed  shall  be 
great,  and  thine  offspring  as  the  grass  of  the  earth.  (26)  Thou  shalt  come 
to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season. 
(27)  Lo  this,  we  have  searched  it,  so  it  is ;  hear  it,  and  know  thou  it  for  thy 
good.— Job  V,  17-27. 

How  long  Job  had  been  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell.  Different  scholars  and  students  have  advanced  dif- 
ferent theories.  Some  place  the  present  circumstances  at  not  later 
than  two  months  from  the  first  blow  that  fell  upon  him.  Others  set 
it  forward  as  long  as  two  years.  The  only  method  we  have  of  ascer- 
taining the  time  is  from  the  internal  evidence  suggested  by  the 
progress  of  the  tragedy.  "  There  was  a  day  "  is  the  only  allusion  to 
time  in  the  matter.  The  probability  seems  to  be  that  a  considerable 
time  had  elapsed  between  the  first  and  second  strokes.  Considering 
that  the  objects  of  the  affliction  were  the  self-revelation,  discipline, 
and  the  spiritual  training  and  culture  of  Job's  character,  we  con- 
clude that  the  element  of  time  had  a  good  deal  to  do  vnth  the  work. 
To  have  followed  up  the  loss  of  property  and  children  immediately 
with  the  terrible  affliction  of  his  body  would  rather  have  tended  to 
stun  than  to  discipline  the  mind  and  spirit  of  Job.  It  would  be 
safe,  I  think,  to  put  an  interval  of  twelve  months  between  the  first 
blow  and  the  second.  Then  what  of  the  length  of  time  between  the 
second  affliction — the  falling  upon  him  of  the  loathsome  disease 
which  drove  him  from  his  house  to  the  village  ash-heap,  and  from 
his  friends  to  the  solitary  exile  of  the  despised  leper,  and  made  him 
utterly  wish  to  die — and  the  coming  to  him  of  those  three  celebrated 

118 


AFFLICTIONS   SANCTIFIED.  119 

friends,  "Job's  comforters,"  as  they  are  traditionally  called?  If  it 
was  the  purpose  of  God,  in  overruling  these  temptations  or  trials,  to 
give  them  time  to  work  into  his  soul — for  the  first  stunning  pain  and 
the  confusion  of  mind  necessarily  produced  by  them  to  pass  away, 
and  the  more  deliberate  consideration  of  the  heart  to  have  play — 
then  we  must  allow  several  weeks,  if  not  months.  The  coming  of 
Job's  friends  from  what  was  evidently  a  distance  would  imply  that 
some  time  has  elapsed  since  his  last  affliction  had  fallen  upon  him, 
as  in  the  olden  times  news  of  any  kind  traveled  slowly ;  communi- 
cation between  friends  at  a  distance  from  each  other  was  infrequent. 
These  three  friends  were  men  of  note,  each  of  them  probably  great 
prophets  or  teachers  in  their  own  country,  and  their  coming  would 
seem  to  have  been  the  result  of  conferences  between  them,  most 
likely  carried  on  by  correspondence.  The  first  calamity  which  be- 
fell Job,  and  of  which  possibly  they  had  heard  without  thinking  it 
wise  or  necessary  to  make  him  a  personal  visit,  had,  therefore, 
passed.  It  was  one  that  was  not  irreparable,  so  long  as  Job's  health 
and  strength  were  left  to  him.  This  second  affliction,  however, 
coming  as  a  second  stroke,  was  so  marked  that  these  religious 
teachers,  philosophers  and  seers,  were  both  profoundly  impressed 
that  the  hand  of  God  was  in  it,  and  deeply  moved  on  Job's  own 
account,  whom  they  (with  all  the  rest  of  the  world  in  which  they 
lived)  profoundly  reverenced  and  respected.  Therefore,  at  last,  they 
felt  it  their  duty  to  arrange  a  visit  to  Job  both  to  condole  with 
him  and  to  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  so  unusual  a  dispensation. 
It  does  not  seem  charitable  to  think  that  any  other  motive  entered 
into  their  hearts  in  making  this  visit ;  but  it  is  not  altogether  con- 
trary to  human  nature  that  there  was  some  curiosity  to  see  how  Job 
was  taking  these  things,  and  to  know  what  manner  of  man  this 
greatest  of  the  princes  of  their  country  would  prove  to  be  under  cir- 
cumstances which  had  reduced  him  to  poverty,  and  sent  him  an  out- 
cast from  his  kind.  A  great  philosopher  has  said  that  there  is  that 
vein  of  depravity  in  every  man  that  causes  a  little  secret  satisfac- 
tion in  the  misfortunes  even  of  our  best  friend,  especially  if  that 
friend  was  a  little  above  us  in  rank  and  reputation.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  is  not  universally  true,  yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that  it 
is  so  far  true  that  it  behoves  the  best  of  men  to  guard  themselves 
against  so  subtle  and  devilish  a  meanness. 

We  left  Job  sitting  miserable  and  dumb  upon  the  huge  ash-heap, 
scraping  his  feculent  body  with  a  potsherd  and  bruising  his  spirit 
with  bitter  and  hard  thoughts,  yet  without  having  once  broken  out 
with  so  much  as  one  word  of  reproach  against  God.     I  have  seen 


120  AFFLICTIONS   SANCTIFIED. 

these  huge  dung  ash-heaps  here  in  India.  They  are  the  result  of 
much  burning  of  brick  with  cow-dung  dried  into  fuel.  After  the 
bricks  are  so  burned  that  they  are  gathered  out  of  the  ashes  which 
remain  on  the  ground,  another  kiln  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  former 
one,  and  the  ashes  of  the  second  burning  remain  on  the  top  of  those 
of  the  first,  and  thus  the  process  goes  on  until  the  ash-heap  rises 
sometimes  fifty  feet  in  height,  and  even  more.  On  this  pile  the  vil- 
lage children  play  and  the  debris  of  the  community  is  cast.  This, 
then,  was  the  desolate  place  to  which  Job  as  a  leper  was  outcast, 
and  will  account  for  the  fact  that  the  children  of  the  place,  gather- 
ing about  him,  and  possibly  resenting  his  occupancy  of  their  play- 
ground, taunted  him  with  his  foul  leprosy. 

In  order  to  understand  the  whole  course  of  the  mighty  argument 
of  the  Book  of  Job,  we  must  endeavor  to  enter  a  little  into  the  ac- 
cepted philosophy  of  the  time,  which  was  held  alike  by  Job  and  his 
friends.  That  philosophy  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
chapters  of  the  book,  and  has  for  substance  that  blessing  and  afflic- 
tion, prosperity  and  adversity,  were  the  consequences  of  conduct,  or 
at  least  the  rewards  meted  out  by  God  upon  righteous  men  or  sin- 
ners. Such  prosperity  as  Job  had  formerly  enjoyed  was  the  sure 
sign  of  Job's  integrity ;  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  such  afflictions 
as  he  was  now  suffering  were  an  equally  sure  sign  that  there  was 
either  in  Job's  actions  or  character  some  terrible  wickedness  which 
had  brought  down  upon  him  the  chastening  hand  of  God.  It  is 
tersely  expressed  in  one  of  the  brief  sentences  of  Eliphaz  the  Tem- 
anite  :  "Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being  innocent? 
or  where  were  the  righteous  cut  off  ?  Even  as  I  have  seen,  they 
that  plow  iniquity,  and  sow  wickedness,  reap  the  same."  (iv,  7,  8.) 
Job  had  himself  treated  the  adversities  of  other  men  on  this  theory, 
(iv,  3,  4,  5.)  Job,  conscious  of  his  own  integrity,  was  plunged  by  his 
overwhelming  affliction  into  a  very  dungeon  of  doubt  and  darkness, 
fast  locked  up  in  the  prison  of  the  ancient  giant  Despair.  What 
could  it  all  mean  ?  He  could  not  make  it  out,  though  he  was  taking 
the  best  course  to  do  so,  namely,  keeping  silence  and  "  communing 
with  his  own  heart,"  with  his  face  turned  toward  God.  Let  us  try 
and  set  the  whole  picture  before  us  again.  That  he  was  afflicted, 
and  that  more  terribly  than  any  one  whom  he  had  before  known, 
there  could  be  no  doubt.  How  great  those  afflictions  were  is  not 
seen  in  the  mere  fact  of  the  loss  of  all  his  great  wealth,  or  even 
in  the  sudden  bereavement  of  all  his  children,  or  in  the  further  fear- 
ful plague  which  had  fallen  upon  his  own  body,  which  was  worse 
than  death  to  him ;  but  in  the  further  facts  whicli  he  so  pathetically 


AFFLICTIONS   SANCTIFIED.  121 

recounts  in  the  nineteenth  chapter.  God  had  dealt  with  him  as 
though  he  had  been  his  greatest  enemy,  instead  of  being  his  stead- 
fast servant,  who  feared  him  always.  His  brethren  and  friends  were 
estranged  from  him.  His  kinsfolk  had  failed  and  his  familiar  friends 
had  forgotten  him.  His  former  tenants  and  even  his  serving-maids 
counted  him  to  be  a  stranger  and  an  alien.  His  servants  had  re- 
fused to  give  him  even  a  cup  of  water,  though  he  had  begged  for  it. 
His  wife  would  not  speak  with  him,  though  he  had  entreated  her  in 
the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  their  dead  children.  Young  children 
despised  him  and  taunted  him  with  being  a  vile,  God-smitten,  and 
God-forsaken  leper.  His  intimate  friends  abhorred  him,  and  those 
whom  he  had  loved  were  turned  against  him.  And  now  the  worst 
of  all  was  come.  These  three  friends  had  come  from  afar  to  condole 
with  him,  and  it  was  evident  that  they  more  than  suspected,  yea, 
even  believed,  that  he  was  a  guilty  man,  whose  offenses  were  in  some 
sense  to  be  measured  by  the  extent  of  his  afflictions,  and  throughout 
their  whole  debate  with  him  endeavored  to  extort  from  him  a  con- 
fession of  his  guilt,  I  have  said  this  last  was  his  greatest  trial,  but 
it  was  not.  This  was  his  sorest  distress,  that  he  was  thrown  into  the 
most  dreadful  doubt  concerning  God,  whose  very  justice  in  dealing 
with  him  (according  to  his  theory  of  God's  dealings  with  men)  was 
questioned.  No  one  who  has  not  passed  througli  a  storm  of  doubt 
concerning  God,  who  has  not  paced  barefoot  over  the  burning  sands 
of  bitter  questionings,  can  know  what  this  trial  was  to  such  a  man 
as  Job.  This  was  the  dilemma  he  was  in.  If  such  afflictions  as  he 
was  then  suffering  came  only  upon  the  wicked  as  a  punishment  for 
wi'ong-doing,  or  at  least  as  an  expression  of  God's  displeasure,  then 
it  followed  that  he  had  grievously  offended  God  by  some  form  of  in- 
iquity either  of  heart  or  of  hand.  The  most  rigorous  self-examina- 
tion, however,  failed  to  convict  Job  of  any  such  offense.  Like  Paul, 
he  had  served  God  in  all  good  conscience,  and  ''knew  nothing 
against  himself."  His  integrity  was  that  one  thing  which  he  held 
fast  and  maintained  all  through  the  long  controversy  with  his 
friends.  This  may  seem  a  little,  or  even  a  good  deal,  like  self-right- 
eousness in  Job.  Perhaps  it  was,  but  nevertheless  he  was  honest  in 
so  maintaining  his  integrity.  In  vain  did  his  friends  try  to  make 
him  confess  iniquity.  This  he  would  not  do,  for  his  heart  con- 
demned him  not.  His  standard  was  not  the  spiritual-evangelical  one 
by  which  we  now  judge  ourselves,  but  rather  the  external  and  legal 
one  by  which  men  measured  themselves  by  themselves  in  such  light 
as  they  had  in  those  days  before  the  law  was  given,  by  which  came 
''the  knowledge  of  sin."     Neither  was  it  possible  for  his  friends  to 


122  AFFLICTIONS   SANCTIFIED. 

point  out  any  fault  in  him.  They  only  assumed  fault  because  of 
affliction.  To  have  acknowledged  iniquity  when  he  was  conscious 
of  none  would  have  been  to  Job  a  violation  of  his  whole  moral  nat- 
ure, and  itself  an  iniquity.  The  other  horn  of  the  dilemma  was 
this :  if  he  had  not  done  anything  to  bring  these  afQictions  upon 
him — if,  in  fact,  God  had  aflQicted  him  icithout  a  cause — then  the 
terrible  conclusion  was  forced  upon  him  that  God  was  not  just.  To 
Job  this  was  a  greater  horror  than  to  have  confessed  himself  a 
transgressor  when  he  knew  he  was  not.  To  have  lost  faith  in  the 
justice  and  goodness  of  God  would  have  been  to  cast  himself  adrift 
upon  the  wide  sea  of  infidelity  and  skepticism.  Clinging,  therefore, 
as  he  did,  both  to  his  own  integrity  and  to  his  belief  in  God  as  being 
good  and  just,  these  terrible  afflictions  were  an  unsolved  riddle,  and 
served  to  torture  his  mind  far  worse  than  his  misfortunes  had  afflicted 
his  outward  life  or  even  his  "  skin." 

Could  Job  have  known  the  secret  cause  of  these  trials ;  that  God 
was  suffering  them  to  come  upon  him  to  prove  both  his  own  integ- 
rity and  the  glory  of  God's  character  in  the  face  of  the  devil's  sneer- 
ing insinuation  against  them  both ;  that  Job's  righteousness  and 
piety  were  purely  selfish ;  and  that  there  was  not  that  in  God  him- 
self which  would  inspire  devotion  and  true  piety  without  the  help 
of  temporal  good  bestowed;  could  he  have  known  how  God  had 
himself  vindicated  him  before  his  unseen  accuser  when  he  said, 
"Although  thou  movest  me  against  him  to  destroy  him  without 
cause  "  (ii,  3) ;  could  he  have  known  how  in  the  end  God  would  vin- 
dicate and  glorify  him  both  before  his  unseen  accuser  and  in  the  face 
of  his  true  but  mistaken  friends — then,  indeed,  he  would  have  counted 
them  all  as  nothing,  and  laughed  with  joy  and  triumph,  instead  of 
cursing  his  day  and  surrendering  himself  almost  to  despair,  and 
wishing  himself  dead  and  utterly  blotted  out  of  existence,  even  as 
though  he  had  never  been  born.  But  Job  did  not  know  these  things ; 
yet  his  faith  somehow  clung  to  both  positions  which  he  held  in  his 
heart,  viz.  :  that  the  afflictions  were  not  owing  to  his  transgression, 
nor  were  they  proof  of  injustice  on  God's  part.  That  magnificent 
saying  of  his,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  him"  (xiii,  15), 
and  that  peerless  confession  of  faith  which  has  come  down  to  us  liv- 
ing and  quivering  with  divine  breath  in  it,  "I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemed liveth,"  etc.  (xix,  19-27),  show  how  truly,  after  all.  Job's 
heart  was  stayed  on  God.  He  longed  for  a  clearer  revelation  from 
God,  and  yet  he  knew  enough,  no  matter  how,  to  enable  him  to  trust 
God  for  final  vindication. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  too  harshly  judge  the  friends 


THE   LORD   LOVETH   WHOM   HE   CHASTENETH.      123 

who  contended  with  him.  It  is  true  that  they  did  not  speak  the 
things  which  were  right  (xlii,  7),  yet  they  were  honest  in  their  con- 
victions and  spoke  according  to  their  light,  and  came  near  to  the 
truth  in  many  things.  Especially  did  the  Temanite  touch  a  vital 
truth,  which  he  had  discovered  in  a  vision  (iv,  17-21) :  that  the  holi- 
est of  men  are  in  the  sight  of  God  unclean,  and  therefore  ought  to 
humble  themselves ;  that  afflictions,  even  if  there  is  visible  no  out- 
ward cause  for  them  in  the  way  of  punitive  chastisement,  are  never 
causeless,  but  there  is  that  in  man  which  may  account  for  them  as 
the  sparks  are  accounted  for  by  the  fire  out  of  which  they  "  fly  up- 
ward" (Job  V,  7)  ;  and  that,  in  general,  afflictions  which  come  to  the 
best  of  men  tend  to  their  good  and  not  to  their  evil.  The  whole 
book  shows  us  how  profoundly  we  need  a  revelation  in  order  to 
understand  both  ourselves  and  God,  and  how  hopeless  we  are,  and 
helpless  in  the  face  of  the  mysteries  of  life  and  providence,  without 
such  a  revelation.  We  are  prepared  now  to  consider  a  little  more 
minutely  the  beautiful  words  of  the  Temanite  contained  in  the 
verses  appointed  for  our  study  (17-27). 

THE    LORD   LOVETH  WHOM  HE   CHASTENETH. 

In  the  afflictions  which  came  upon  Job  we  see  (by  having  been 
admitted  to  the  heavenly  council)  the  agency  of  the  devil,  and  how 
God  overrules  even  his  satanic  hate,  and  uses  it  instrumentally  for 
our  good.  His  slanders  gave  to  God  the  opportunity  of  vindicating 
both  himself  and  Job,  and  at  the  same  time  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
cipline Job's  character  as  gold  is  tried  in  the  fire,  separating  the 
dross  of  self -righteousness  from  it.     (xxxii,  2;  xl,  4.) 

1.  The  benefit  of  afla.iction. — In  the  first  place,  the  Temanite 
lays  this  down  as  a  truth :  "  Happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correct- 
eth."  He  did  not  know  the  full  significance  of  this  saying  as  it 
was  afterward  expounded  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (xii,  5-8), 
where  we  are  exhorted  not  to  despise  or  resent  the  '^chastenings  of 
the  Lord,"  nor  to  give  up  to  despair  under  their  correction,  for  the 
Lord  means  love  and  good  to  us  by  them,  and  not  evil.  (Prov.  iii, 
11,  12  ;  Rev.  iii,  19  ;  Jer.  xxix,  11.)  Paul  knew  the  truth  in  its  full- 
ness which  is  hinted  at  here  :  "  For  which  cause  we  faint  not ;  but 
though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day 
by  day.  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh 
for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ;  while  we 
look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are 
not  seen."    (II.  Cor.  iv,  16-18.)    If  he  maketh  sore,  it  is  in  order  that 


124  AFFLICTIONS   SANCTIFIED. 

he  may  bind  up ;  if  lie  womideth,  it  is  only  that  he  may  heal.  The 
surgeon  cuts  only  to  cure,  by  removing  some  foul  gangrene  or  some 
spreading  cancer ;  he  breaks  the  ill-set  bone  that  he  may  straighten 
a  crooked  limb.  In  the  very  extremity  of  trouble  he  will  finally  de- 
liver us.  Even  famine  or  war,  which  may  come  upon  us  without  our 
agency,  shall  not  put  us  out  of  his  protection,  (Ps.  xxvii.)  Even 
the  strife  of  the  slanderous  tongue  shall  not  harm  us,  but  shall  be 
turned  into  blessings.  (Matt,  v,  11.)  Destruction  may  come  upon 
us,  but  we  shall  not  be  afraid  of  it,  for  we  shall  know  of  a  truth  that 
God  is  in  the  calamity  and  well  knoweth  "  how  to  deliver  the  godly 
out  of"  the  trouble. 

2.  The  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness. — We  are  told 
(Heb.  xii,  11)  that  ''no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be 
joyous,  but  grievous,  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peace- 
able fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exercised  thereby  " ; 
that  is,  to  them  Vv'ho  accept  it  as  from  God,  bear  it  patiently,  and 
wait  for  God  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  conclusion.  The  statement  of 
the  Temanite  is,  that  thus,  under  God's  hand,  he  will  cause  every- 
thing in  the  world  to  work  together  for  our  good.  The  very  stones 
in  the  field  shall  be  in  league  with  us.  Now  a  stony  field  at  first 
seems  to  be  a  bad  field,  and  the  farmer  resents  the  stones  and 
casts  them  out ;  but  it  has  been  demonstrated  in  many  cases  that 
these  loose-lying  stones  shade  the  ground  and  retain  the  moisture, 
so  that  a  reasonable  number  of  them  contribute  to  fertility.  Even 
so  afflictions  tend  to  our  good.  "  The  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at 
peace  with  thee."  That  is,  God  is  able  when  he  wdll  to  restrain 
even  the  natural  wrath  of  our  bitterest  enemies.  "  When  a  man's 
ways  please  the  Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace 
with  him."  Thus,  in  submission  to  God,  the  end  will  be  that  a 
man's  house  and  field  are  safe.  "  Thy  habitation  "  or  flock  shall  be 
safe,  and  thou  shalt  not  suffer  disappointment.  Thy  family  shall  be 
prosperous  and  numerous,  and  in  the  end  thou  shalt  come  to  the 
grave  as  a  ripe  shock  of  corn  is  lifted  from  the  field  and  carried  to 
the  garner.  In  a  word,  the  lesson  is  "  that  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God."  Let  us  accept  him  in  all  his  dis- 
pensations, and  let  us  not  fight  against  him. 


XVI. 

JOB'S   APPEAL  TO    GOD.— Job  xxiii,    i-io. 

(1)  Then  Job  answered  and  said,  (2)  Even  to  day  is  my  complaint  bitter : 
my  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groaning.  (3)  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might 
find  him  !  that  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat !  (4)  I  would  order  my  cause 
before  him,  and  fill  my  mouth  with  arguments.  (5)  I  would  know  the 
words  which  he  would  answer  me,  and  understand  what  he  would  say  unto 
me.  (6)  Will  he  plead  against  me  with  his  great  power?  No ;  but  he  would 
put  strength  in  me.  (7)  There  the  righteous  might  dispute  with  him;  so 
should  I  be  delivered  for  ever  from  my  Judge.  (8)  Behold,  I  go  forward, 
but  he  is  not  there ;  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him :  (9)  On  the 
left  hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot  behold  him :  he  hideth  him- 
self on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see  him :  (10)  But  he  knoweth  the  way 
that  I  take:  when  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold.— Job  xxiii, 
1-10. 

Through  all  the  intervening  chapters  the  battle  between  Job  and 
his  friends  had  raged  without  ceasing.  On  their  part  they  con- 
tended for  their  dogmatic  creed — that  rewards  and  punishments 
were  meted  out  in  this  ivorld ;  that  sin  brought  with  it  in  this  life 
its  terrible  consequences,  and  that  virtue  was  sure  to  be  vindicated 
in  a  corresponding  compensation  of  blessing.  Because  Job  was 
so  sorely  afflicted,  they  argued,  over  and  over  again,  that  he  must 
be  a  great  sinner.  It  is  true  that  tliey  could  point  out  no  sin  of 
which  he  had  been  guilty,  but  they  argued  that  there  must  be  sin 
or  there  could  not  be  such  affliction.  To  admit  that  such  affliction 
'could  find  a  place  in  a  good  man's  life  would  argue  the  injustice 
of  God,  which  neither  Job  nor  his  friends  would  admit.  The  differ- 
ence between  Job's  position  and  theirs  was,  that  while  he  stoutly 
upheld  the  absolute  justice  of  God,  he  as  stoutly  denied  iniquity  in 
himself,  and  maintained  his  integrity.  These  two  positions,  with 
his  unparalleled  afflictions  between,  seemed  inconsistent  with  each 
other.  The  friends  seized  on  this  inconsistency,  and  pounded  Job 
with  arguments  drawn  from  the  theology  which  they  both  held. 
Job,  on  the  other  hand,  still  maintaining  his  integrity  and  the  justice 
of  God,  admitted  that  in  the  present  case  God  was  an  "  adversary  " 
to  him  for  some  inexplicable  reason,  but  that  it  did  not  arise  from 
any  fault  of  his.  The  friends  contended  that  such  a  position  was 
insulting  to  God  and  blasphemous  in  Job,  and  that  his  stubbornness 
in  maintaining  his  integrity  was  only  an  aggravation  of  his  sin.     In 


126  JOB'S  APPEAL   TO  GOD. 

the  course  of  the  argument,  which  must  have  lasted  over  many  days, 
we  notice  that  the  friends  intrench  themselves  more  and  more  be- 
hind dogma,  steadily  lose  their  calmness,  and  grow  bitter,  unjust, 
and  vindictive  against  Job.  Foiled  in  their  efforts  to  convince  him 
of  sin,  and  to  bring  him  to  their  views  on  the  matter,  they  assail  him 
most  bitterly,  and  seem  more  bent  on  maintaining  their  creed  than 
in  justifying  God.  On  the  other  hand.  Job,  still  overwhelmed  with 
his  afflictions,  utterly  unable  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  them, 
confident  of  his  integrity  (which  is  the  only  thing  he  absolutely 
knows),  and  equally  confident  of  the  ultimate  justice  of  God,  draws 
still  nearer  and  nearer  to  God,  appeals  to  him  for  vindication  against 
his  friends,  and  even  against  his  own  dealings  with  him.  This  is 
one  of  the  remarkable  features  of  Job's  argument.  God  had  done 
him  a  great  wrong,  but  to  God  he  appeals  to  undo  that  wrong.  He 
has  such  an  uncompromising  conviction  of  the  justice  of  God  that 
he  appeals  to  that  against  the  wrong  which  God  himself  had  done  to 
him.  In  all  his  argument  and  outcries  his  face  is  toward  God  and 
his  appeal  to  God.  He  will  listen  to  no  one  else,  argue  with  no  one 
else,  and  look  to  no  one  else  for  vindication.  ''My  friends  scorn  me  : 
but  mine  eye  poureth  out  tears  unto  God."  (xvi,  20.)  He  is  often  very 
bold  in  his  appeals  to  God.  "  Thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked ; 
and  there  is  none  that  can  deliver  out  of  thine  hand."  (x,  7.) 
"  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him :  but  I  will  maintain 
mine  own  ways  before  him.  He  also  shall  be  my  salvation :  for  an 
hypocrite  shall  not  come  before  him."  (xiii,  15-17.)  A  conscious 
sinner  would  not  dare  approach  into  God's  presence  ;  but  Job  longs 
for  nothing  so  much  as  for  the  privilege  of  facing  God  and  requir- 
ing of  him  an  explanation  and  justification  of  his  ways  with  him.^ 
If  God  be  just  and  he  be  Innocent,  then  God  must  vindicate  him. 
This  he  constantly  argues,  entreats,  and  demands.  Another  thing 
is  apparent  in  the  course  of  the  whole  argument,  and  that  is,  that 
Job  is  gradually  changing  his  theological  views  and  reaching  con- 
clusions from  the  premise  of  his  own  sufferings  which  were  not  in 
his  creed  at  the  beginning.  He  is  no  longer  sure  that  suffering  is 
the  necessary  consequence  of  sinning — that  is,  that  his  afiQictions 
are  traceable  to  iniquity  in  himself.  How  could  he  hold  fast  by 
that  old  view  when  he  was  conscious  that  there  was  no  iniquity  in 
him — that  is,  no  such  iniquity  as  that  attributed  to  him,  being  in- 
ferred from  his  sufferings.  Then,  again,  he  was  beginning  to  per- 
ceive that  the  sphere  of  God's  providence  and  the  working  of  his 
ways  were  not  to  be  limited  to  this  world.  He  suggests  that  God 
should  let  him  die  and  hide  him  in  "hades  "  (or  the  grave)  until  such 


JOB'S  APPEAL   TO   GOD.  127 

time  as  he  was  ready  to  vindicate  him  and  bring  forth  his  righteous- 
ness. He  promises  to  rest  quietly  in  that  middle  world  until  God's 
time  should  come,  and  then  at  his  first  call  he  would  respond,  (xiv, 
13-15. )  God  has  more  worlds  than  this  in  which  to  make  his  ways 
plain,  his  promises  good,  and  his  justice  manifest.  This  new  and 
open  vision  of  a  future  life  and  of  the  arbitration  of  human  affairs 
beyond  the  confines  of  this  life  rises  to  its  culminating  point  in  the 
nineteenth  chapter,  where  he  bursts  out  with  that  grand  declaration 
of  faith  :  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  "  (my  Kinsman  and  Avenger) 
"liveth  ;  and  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  out 
of  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God."  Job  had  reached  a  state  of  both  body 
and  mind  when  he  despaired  of  recovery  of  the  one  and  the  peace 
of  the  other  in  an  earthly  vindication,  and  he  longed  for  death — 
not  as  once  he  had  done,  in  bitterness,  wishing  that  he  had  never 
been  born,  or  that  death  might  be  annihilation  to  him,  but  that 
in  another  world  his  Redeemer  might  vindicate  him.  He  had 
nothing  more  to  live  for.  His  body  was  being  eaten  to  the  bone 
with  the  foul  leprosy  that  covered  his  skin;  his  friends  had  for- 
saken him  ;  he  was  the  object  of  their  bitter  injustice ;  his  wife  had 
turned  from  him ;  and  he  was  the  object  of  loathing  on  all  hands, 
and  of  the  foulest  suspicions.  Not  only  was  he  adjudged  to  be 
guilty  of  unknown  crimes,  but  now,  because  he  maintained  his  in- 
tegrity, he  was  pronounced  to  be  a  monumental  hypocrite  and  even 
a  blasphemer,  because,  being  guilty  (as  adjudged),  he  appealed  to 
God  for  vindication,  and  charged  him  with  visiting  these  aflQictions 
upon  him  without  a  cause.  He  is  growing  quiet  in  the  increasing 
conviction  that  in  another  world  he  will  be  vindicated.  He  had  lost 
all  hope  for  this  one. 

In  the  twenty-second  chapter,  which  is  the  second  one  in  the  last 
colloquy,  we  see  the  Temanite  throwing  his  last  spear,  firing  his  last 
arrow.  Like  the  cuttle-fish,  he  strikes  this  blow  and  then  retires 
amid  a  cloud  of  filth  which  he  pours  over  Job.  In  vain  had  they 
sought  to  convict  Job  of  crimes,  or  point  out  to  him  one  single  sin 
which  he  had  committed.  Yet  their  theory  of  sin  and  its  punish- 
ment required  that  sin  be  found  in  Job.  '^According  to  our  theory 
you  ought  to  he  a  sinner.  We  cannot  change  our  theory.  Therefore 
you  are  a  sinner.  And  since  your  afi&ictions  are  unparalleled,  you 
must  be  an  unparalleled  sinner."  Thus  they  reasoned,  thus  practi- 
cally Eliphaz  spoke.  They  had  been  unable  to  pierce  Job's  armor 
of  integrity  by  all  the  arts  of  argument,  by  all  the  cunning  of  insin- 
uation ;  so  now  the  Temanite  resorts  to  a  last  desperate  charge. 
Without  proof  or  scrap  of  evidence,  he  opens  his  batteries,  and 


128  JOB'S  APPEAL   TO   GOD. 

charged  Job  with  every  heinous  sin,  every  namable  iniquity  of  which 
the  worst  wretch  could  be  guilty  (xxii),  and  then  calls  upon  him  to 
repent  of  these  crimes  which  he  had  not  committed,  and  turn  to 
God,  confess  his  sins,  and  God  will  forgive  him,  lift  him  up,  and 
cause  him  to  prosper  again.  He  in  this  uses  a  very  devil's  argu- 
ment, and  presses  upon  him  outward  deliverance  from  suffering  and 
outward  prosperity  as  a  bribe,  (xxii,  23-30. )  But  to  all  this  Job  pays 
little  attention.  He  answers,  indeed,  but  he  does  not  rebut  these 
gross  charges  brought  against  him.  He  has  practically  turned  away 
from  man.  The  argument  between  him  and  his  friends  has  been 
thrashed  out,  and  he  is  more  and  more  disposed  to  turn  the  whole 
matter  over  to  God  for  judgment  and  vindication.  He  is  rather  re- 
lieved at  the  open  charges,  or  the  charges  of  open  sins  and  crimes, 
for  these  could  be  more  easily  met  than  their  former  insinuations 
of  secret  sins  and  iniquities.  A  specific  charge  is  always  more 
easily  met  than  an  insinuation. 

I.— JOB'S  LONGING  DESIRE  AFTER  GOD. 

"  Then  Job  answered  and  said."  But  he  said  but  one  word  to  his 
whilome  friends,  and  then  turned  in  a  kind  of  soliloquy  toward  God. 
To  his  friends  he  remarked  :  "  Even  to-day  is  my  complaint  bitter  : 
my  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groaning."  He  admits  that  his  com- 
plaint has  been  bitter ;  that  he  has  given  way  under  stress  of  suffer- 
ing, both  mental  and  physical,  to  bitter  reproaches.  He  had  been 
hot  against  his  friends,  and  angry  with  them  because  they  had  mis- 
judged him  and  accused  him  of  sins  and  crimes  of  which  he  was  in- 
nocent, of  a  secret  character  for  sin  of  which  he  was  guiltless ;  he 
had  even  spoken  bitter  and  hard  words  to  and  of  God,  though  under 
all  these  he  has  considered  God  his  true  and  only  refuge.  But  all 
his  words  and  all  his  bitter  complaints  had  fallen  short  of  the  heavy 
stroke  that  was  upon  him.  '^My  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groan- 
ing." Having  said  this,  he  turns  away  from  these  friends  and 
addresses  himself  to  himself  in  soliloquy. 

1.  "Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him!" — We  have 
before  remarked  that  in  all  this  trial  Job  had  been  drawn  steadily 
toward  God.  He  had  a  deep  conviction  in  it  all,  though  he  could 
not  reconcile  the  justice  of  God  with  his  dealings,  that  God  after 
all  was  his  sure  refuge  in  this  time  of  trouble.  In  the  ninth  chapter, 
at  verse  thirty-three,  Job  is  feeling  after  an  advocate  or  daysman 
who  might  stand  between  him  and  God.  He  felt  the  need  of  some 
such  humanized  mediator,  for  he  was  conscious  of  sinfulness  though 


JOB'S  LONGING  DESIRE  AFTER  GOD.  129 

not  of  crimes.  In  the  nineteenth  chapter  he  asserts  his  conviction 
that  there  is  such  a  Daysman,  even  an  avenging  Kinsman  who  will 
ultimately  take  up  his  cause.  But  here  we  find  him  yearning  and 
longing  for  God.  Friendless  in  this  world,  weary  with  his  own  life, 
overwhelmed  with  afflictions  without  a  cause,  he  longs  to  find  God 
and  lay  himself  at  his  feet,  and  cast  all  his  care  and  trouble  upon 
him.  He  is  not  afraid  of  God.  He  would  press  up  to  the  very  foot 
of  the  throne,  and  there  urge  his  suit.  Most  people  in  certain  times 
of  great  spiritual  need  or  mental  anxiety  know  something  of  this 
longing  to  find  God.  That  God  is,  that  our  only  hope  is  in  him, 
that  he  is  somehow  ready  to  help  even  though  we  be  sinners,  is  a 
conviction  that  the  soul  cannot  rid  itself  of  if  it  would.  And  yet 
where  is  God  to  be  found?  We  are  reminded  of  the  purpose  of  the 
Spouse  in  the  Song  of  Solomon :  "  I  will  seek  him  whom  my  soul 
loveth."  "Saw  ye  him  whom  my  soul  loveth?"  (Song  iii,  2,  3.) 
"Master,  where  dwellest  thou? "  (John  i,  38)  was  the  question  of  the 
two  disciples  who  followed  Jesus.  They  were  longing  for  an  inter- 
view with  him,  but  knew  not  where  they  might  find  him.  He  is  not 
in  the  works  of  nature,  that  is,  as  we  discern  him  there  he  does  not 
enter  into  our  deep  spiritual  need.  He  is  not  in  our  speculative 
philosophies.  He  is  not  to  be  found  in  our  creeds  and  dogmas. 
Job  had  already  found  out  how  unsatisfactory  his  old  dogmatic  faith 
was.  No !  the  God  whom  Job  was  seeking  was  he  whom,  out  of 
this  furnace  of  affliction,  he  was  for  the  first  time  beginning  to  dis- 
cern as  one  to  whom  he  might  go,  and  throw  himself  upon  and  claim 
some  kind  of  dependence. 

2.  "I  would  order  my  cause  before  him." — He  was  weary 
of  the  strife  of  tongues  and  the  battle  of  words  with  men.  He  had 
found  out  that  man  could  not  or  would  not  understand.  God  only 
could  meet  his  want.  God  only  was  just  enough  and  strong  enough 
at  once  to  know  his  innocence  and  vindicate  it.  He  had  every  con- 
fidence in  God.  He  was  sure  of  his  integrity.  He  would  set  forth 
all  his  complaint  in  order.  He  would  keep  nothing  back,  nor  would 
he  overstate  his  case.  "I  would  ...  fill  my  mouth  with  arguments." 
Not  only  would  he  set  the  facts  before  him,  but  he  would  bring 
arguments  to  bear.  "  I  would  argue  the  case  from  the  very  justice 
and  goodness  of  God.  I  would  make  the  holiness  of  his  character 
and  the  equity  of  his  government  my  plea."  Thus  would  Job  do 
in  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  his  ease.  We  also  would  come  be- 
fore God  and  fill  our  mouth  with  arguments,  though  we  have  nothing 
to  plead  but  sin  on  our  part,  and  nothing  to  urge  but  mercy  and 
grace  on  his  part.     We  have  thousands  of  promises  and  gracious 


130  JOB'S  APPEAL   TO   GOD. 

declarations  made  to  and  concerning  sinners  which  would  furnish  us 
with  abundant  arguments.  God  in  Christ  is  the  God  to  Avhom  we 
will  venture  with  our  cause,  and  ply  wath  our  arguments — argu- 
ments with  which  he  himself  has  furnished  us. 

3.  ''I  would  know  the  words  which  he  would  answer  me." 
— Job  had  listened  to  the  words  which  men  had  answered  him,  and 
they  neither  instructed  nor  comforted  him,  neither  did  they  convict 
him  of  sin.  He  was  weary  of  man's  words  and  man's  judgment. 
It  mattered  little  to  him  what  man's  judgment  was.  What  he  now 
longed  for  was  to  hear  what  God  had  to  say  and  what  his  judgment 
was.  Like  Paul,  he  knew  nothing  against  himself ;  yet  was  he  not 
hereby  justified.  He  that  judged  him  was  the  Lord.  (I.  Cor.  iv,  4.) 
"The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether. 
More  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold : 
sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the  honeycomb."  (Ps.  xix,  9,  10.)  God 
is  justified  when  he  speaks  and  clear  when  he  judges  (Ps.  li,  4), 
therefore  he  would  not  be  afraid  to  plead  his  cause  there,  nor  to 
hear  the  judgment  of  God.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  it  was  not 
the  cause  of  sinlessness  but  only  the  cause  of  his  "  integrity  with 
God "  which  had  been  called  in  question  by  his  afflictions  and  the 
harsh  judgments  of  his  friends.  With  us,  we  draw  near  to  God,  con- 
fident of  his  mercy  even  while  confessing  our  sins. 

4.  "  Will  he  plead  against  me  ?  " — The  question  arises  in  his 
mind  as  to  whether  he  would  desire  or  expect  that  God  would  exer- 
cise his  omnipotence  against  him.  In  thus  coming  into  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  and  easting  himself  upon  him,  might  he  not  be  invok- 
ing his  great  power  and  stirring  up  God's  irresistible  strength 
against  him?  It  is  not  in  defiance  that  he  would  come  before  God, 
to  provoke  him  either  with  hypocrisy,  deceit,  or  haughty  independ- 
ence. Nor  would  he  come  on  a  general  plea  that  he  was  without 
sin.  All  through  the  book  Job  has  freely  confessed  his  sinfulness 
as  a  man.  It  was  only  the  particular  alleged  cause  of  his  afflictions 
which  he  denied,  and  in  the  face  of  which  charges  he  maintained 
his  integrity.  ''No,"  says  Job,  " instead  of  pleading  with  or  against 
me  with  his  great  power,  he  will  put  strength  in  me.  He  will  en- 
courage me ;  and  whereas  I  could  not  stand  before  him  if  he  were 
against  me,  he  will  so  uphold  me  that  I  may  plead  with  him  and 
maintain  my  cause."  This  was  his  confidence.  With  us,  we  are 
strong  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  name  we  come  either  for 
forgiveness  of  sins  or  strength  to  help  us  in  every  time  of  need. 

5.  "There  the  righteous  might  dispute  with  him." — The 
meaning  seems  to  be,  that  if  only  he  might  find  God  and  get  his  cause 


JOB'S  VAIN   SEARCH.  131 

before  liim,  lie  would  not  only  listen  to  liim  patiently,  strengthen  him 
in  his  cause,  but  declare  him  righteous  in  the  face  of  his  accusers, 
and  grant  him  an  everlasting  deliverance  from  their  calumnies.  If 
God  should  justify  him,  who  then  could  condemn  him?  His  case  was 
the  same  as  the  believer's  as  he  stands  before  God's  bar  of  judg- 
ment clothed  in  the  righteousness  and  strength  of  Christ.  "Who 
shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God  that  jus- 
tifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea 
rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us."  (Rom.  viii,  33,  34.)  Job 
stood  on  his  integrity  in  the  matter  in  controversy,  but  we  have 
no  integrity  to  stand  on,  that  is,  not  of  our  own ;  but  standing  in 
Christ  and  his  righteousness,  we  can  make  the  same  plea  with  God 
which  Job,  being  innoc3nt  of  transgression,  made. 

•j 
II.— JOB'S   VAIN  SEARCH.  ' 

Job  longed  to  know  where  he  might  find  God,  in  order  that  he 
might  lay  his  cause  before  him.  He  was  confident  that  in  such  a 
ease  ho  would  be  vindicated.  He  was  not  afraid  of  such  a  trial ; 
but,  alas,  it  was  not  to  be.  He  could  not  find  him.  ''Thou  art  a 
God  that  hides  thyself."     So  Job  found. 

1.  "I  cannot  see  him." — Job  was  profoimdly  convinced  of  the 
existence  and  nearness  of  God.  He  longed  to  come  into  some  con- 
scious presence  with  him,  and  yet  God  eluded  his  search.  If  he 
went  forward  or  toward  the  East,  ho  was  not  there  ;  if  he  went  back- 
ward or  toward  the  west,  he  could  not  perceive  him.  On  the  left 
hand  or  in  the  north,  where  he  did  his  chief  est  work,  but  there  he 
could  not  behold  him;  and  on  the  right  hand  or  in  the  west  he 
hid  himself  or  veiled  his  presence,  so  that  he  could  not  see  him.  We 
long  for  sensible  evidences  of  God's  presence,  but  such  sensible  evi- 
dence is  not  given.  We  are  convinced  that  God  is  round  about  us, 
and  not  far  from  any  one  of  us,  but  we  cannot  locate  his  presence  in 
any  particular  place.  We  cannot,  as  it  were,  lay  our  hand  on  him. 
God  is  not  to  be  apprehended  by  the  senses  of  the  body,  but  by  faith. 
"  He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him."  (Heb.  xi,  C.)  "God  is 
a  Spirit :  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and 
in  truth."  (John  iv,  24.)  This  spiritual  pathway  which  leads  to 
God  is  by  Jesus  Christ,  who  said :  "No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me  "  ;  and  who  further  declared  himself  to  be  "  the  Way  "  to 
God  and  to  life.    Men  miss  finding  God  who  look  for  him  in  the  eaSt, 


132  JOB'S  APPEAL   TO   GOD. 

west,  north,  and  south,  in  the  stars,  in  the  things  that  grow  upon 
the  earth,  and  in  the  rocks.  God  is  everywhere  at  work,  and  yet 
always  veiling  himself  from  the  carnal  eyes.  The  little  child  knows 
where  to  find  him,  and  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  him,  and  all  they 
that  are  born  of  God. 

2.  *'But  lie  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take." — Though  Job 
could  not  find  God,  he  had  this  consolation,  that  God  had  found  Jiim 
and  knew  his  way,  that  is,  the  way  of  his  thoughts  and  of  his  life ;  in 
fact,  he  knew  him  altogether.  In  this  would  he  rest  until  further  light 
should  come  to  him.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  culminating  point 
of  Job's  submission  to  God,  until  God  himself  spoke  to  him.  This 
kind  of  surrender  to  God  is  most  helpful.  It  is  not  our  knowledge 
of  God,  but  his  knowledge  of  us,  that  makes  us  safe,  trusting  him.  It 
is  not  our  love  toward  him,  but  his  love  toward  us,  that  comforts  us 
and  makes  us  confident.  It  is  not  that  we  hold  on  to  him,  but  that 
he  holds  on  to  us,  that  secures  us  from  falling  and  guarantees  our 
final  presentation  in  glory.     (Jude  24.) 

3.  Coming  forth  as  gold. — It  is  a  wonderful  fact  in  the  history 
of  Job's  trial  that  he  never  lost  confidence  in  God.  He  was  perfectly 
confident  in  his  own  integrity,  and  also  in  the  justice  of  God.  The 
present  dealing  was  upsetting  to  his  theory,  but  even  that  he  was 
ready  to  give  up,  in  the  face  of  the  two  things  he  was  absolutely 
sure  of.  His  confidence  is  nowhere  more  perfectly  shown  than  in 
this  declaration  of  his.  It  also  reveals  the  fact  that  he  was  getting 
a  glimpse  of  a  truth  which  he  had  not  at  first  perceived,  and  which 
was  entirely  new  to  the  theological  thought  of  his  day,  viz.  :  that 
afflictions  might  have  another  use  than  that  of  punishment;  they 
might  come  for  the  purpose  of  culture  and  the  assaying  of  character. 
''When  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold."  Here  he  had 
risen  to  the  apprehension  of  the  truth  in  its  highest  form  as  set  forth 
by  both  Peter  and  James.  "  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now 
for  a  season,  if  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold  tempta- 
tions (trials) :  that  the  trial  of  your  faith,  being  much  more  precious 
than  gold  that  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire."  (I.  Pet.  i, 
6,  7. )  Godly  character  will  bear  fire  more  severely  kindled  than  gold. 
Gold,  after  all,  is  perishable,  but  godly  character  is  imperishable. 
"Blessed, "therefore,  "is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation  (trials) : 
for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,  which  the 
Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him."     (James  i,  12.) 


XVII. 

JOB'S  CONFESSION  AND  RESTORATION.— Job xlii,  i-io. 

(1)  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  (2)  I  know  that  thou  canst 
do  every  thing,  and  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee.  (3)  Who 
is  he  that  hideth  counsel  without  knowledge?  therefore  have  I  uttered  that 
I  understood  not;  things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not.  U) 
Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak :  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare 
thou  unto  me.  (5)  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear;  but  now 
mine  eye  seeth  thee :  (6)  Wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and 
ashes.  (7)  And  it  was  so,  that  after  the  Lord  had  spoken  these  words  unto 
Job,  the  Lord  said  to  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  My  wrath  is  kindled  against 
thee,  and  against  thy  two  friends :  for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing 
that  is  right,  as  my  servant  Job  hath.  (S)  Therefore  take  unto  you  now  seven 
bullocks  and  seven  rams,  and  go  to  my  servant  Job,  and  offer  up  for  your- 
selves a  burnt  offering;  and  my  servant  Job  shall  pray  for  you:  for  him 
will  I  accept:  lest  I  deal  with  you  after  your  folly,  in  that  ye  have  not 
spoken  of  me  the  thing  which  is  right,  like  my  servant  Job.  (9)  So  Eliphaz 
the  Temanite  and  Bildad  the  Shuhite  and  Zophar  the  Naamathite  went, 
and  did  according  as  the  Lord  commanded  them:  the  Lord  also  accepted 
Job.  (10)  And  the  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for 
his  friends:  also  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before.— 
Job  xlii,  1-10. 

We  have  reached  the  conclusion  of  this  greatest  of  all  poems  in 
ancient  literature,  if  not  in  all  literature,  ancient  or  modern.  It  has 
been  our  chief  difficulty,  in  making  three  or  four  brief  studies  from 
this  wonderful  poem,  that  it  has  been  impossible  for  us  to  follow 
the  argument  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  and  thus  place  our  par- 
ticular studies  in  their  proper  setting.  It  would  have  been  easy  to 
comment  on  the  many  beautiful  sayings  both  of  Job  and  his  friends, 
treating  them  apart  from  their  context ;  but  we  have  sought  to  jjre- 
serve  the  integrity  of  the  argument  of  the  whole  book.  It  is  one  of 
the  remarkable  features  of  this  poem  that  the  three  friends  of  Job, 
whom  God  declared  to  have  not  spoken  rightly  of  him,  nevertheless 
have  spoken  some  of  the  truest  and  sublimest  truths  known  to  us. 
Their  error  was  that  they  spoke  truth,  but  wrongly  applied  it.  Just 
as  Satan  spoke  truth  when  he  said  to  Christ,  tempting  him  to  cast 
himself  down  from  the  pinnacle  of  the  Temple  :  "  It  is  written,  He 
shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee ;  and  in  their  hands 
they  shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against 


134  JOB'S   CONFESSION  AND   RESTORATION. 

a  stone."  The  Scripture  quoted  was  a  true  and  beautiful  one,  and 
the  promise  therein  contained,  a  most  precious  one ;  but  the  appli- 
cation of  the  promise  to  the  circumstances  under  which  Christ  was 
then  placed  was  most  base  and  satanic.  Jesus  saw  the  fraud  and 
exposed  it.  In  this  way  Job's  friends  urged  upon  him  in  argument 
splendid  truths,  but  they  were  truths  which  did  not  apply  to  his  cir- 
cumstances, and,  being  urged  and  pressed  to  carry  a  false  position, 
these  sublime -'truths  became  false  arguments. 

We  have  seen  how  the  argument  between  Job  and  his  friends 
came  to  a  natural  end,  both  for  the  reason  that  they  had  exhausted 
it  and  that  the  friends  failed  utterly  to  move  Job  from  his  position, 
because  he  was  guiltless  of  the  things  charged  and  insinuated 
against  him,  on  account  of  which  they  claimed  that  the  calamities 
of  God  had  come  upon  him.  Job  was  absolutely  sure  of  his  integ- 
rity, and  so  could  not  be  by  any  argument  persuaded  into  a  confes- 
sion. The  friends  were  sure  from  their  premises  that  such  afSic- 
tions  only  came  from  certain  causes.  The  difference  between  the 
"sureness"  of  the  two  parties  was  that  Job  knew  that  he  was  inno- 
cent, while  the  friends  only  inferred  that  he  was  guilty.  Through- 
out the  whole  course  of  the  debate  the  three  friends  grew  more 
haughty,  hard,  bitter,  and  unfeelingly  unjust  toward  Job.  Toward 
the  end  Zophar,  the  most  narrow-minded  of  the  three,  dropped  out 
of  the  argument  altogether,  and  Eliphaz,  the  wisest  and  ablest  of 
them  all,  resorted  at  last,  with  an  utter  loss  of  temper,  to  open 
charges  against  Job  for  which  he  had  not  the  slightest  proof  or  evi- 
dence. According  to  his  theory,  Job  ought  to  have  been  guilty  of 
these  crimes,  therefore  he  was  guilty  of  them.  It  never  occurred  to 
him  that  his  theory  might  be  wrong.  On  the  other  hand,  Job,  start- 
ing with  the  same  theology  as  that  held  by  his  friends,  yet  knowing 
that  in  his  case  the  theory  did  not  hold  good,  steadily  drew  nearer 
to  God,  accusing  him  at  times  of  injustice,  assuming  that  afflic- 
tions were  only  visited  where  there  were  transgressions  calling  for 
them,  and  yet  having  such  unshaken  confidence  in  his  justice  that 
he  called  upon  him  to  defend  and  vindicate  himself  against  his 
own  injustice.  There  is  a  sublime  reverence  in  this  attitude  toward 
God.  His  hard  speeches  and  his  seemingly  almost  blasphemous 
charges  against  God  grew  out  of  his  profound  conviction  of  God's 
absolute  righteousness.  He  felt  that  his  afflictions  were  not  so 
much  a  reproach  to  him  as  to  God,  for  they  laid  God  under  the 
suspicion  of  being  unjust.  "We  have  seen  also  that  the  dilemma  in 
which  Job  found  himself  between  his  afflictions  and  his  absolute 
confidence  in  God  drove  him  little  by  little  to  suspect  that  his  theol- 


JOB  HUMBLED   BEFORE   THE  LORD.  135 

ogy  had  been  too  narrow,  and  that  God  might  have  other  modes  of 
procedure  than  those  which  he  and  his  friends  had  conceived. 

The  arguments  between  Job  and  his  friends  were  brought  to  a 
summary  conclusion  by  the  appearance  of  a  fifth  party  in  the  field. 
Elihu,  a  younger  man  than  any  of  them,  had  during  the  controversy 
sat  as  a  silent  listener.  He  perceived  the  mistake  of  both  Job  and 
his  friends.  Indeed,  he  seems  to  have  had  an  inspired  revelation 
of  the  truth  concerning  the  whole  matter,  and  after  a  while  he  could 
restrain  himself  no  longer,  but  broke  forth  into  speech  :  "  Then  was 
kindled  the  wrath  of  Elihu  :  .  .  .  against  Job  was  his  wrath  kindled, 
because  he  justified  himself  rather  than  God.  Also  against  his 
three  friends  was  his  wrath  kindled,  because  they  had  found  no  an- 
swer" (that  is,  to  Job),  "  and  yet  had  condemned  Job."  (xxxii,  2,  3.) 
Elihu  had  seized  on  the  very  root  of  the  matter  on  both  sides.  He 
condenses  in  two  brief  sentences  the  pith  of  the  elaborate  discus- 
sion contained  in  twenty-nine  chapters.  There  never  can  be  a  true 
answer  from  these  three  men  :  Experience,  Tradition,  and  Legality. 
God  only  can  answer  the  unbroken  heart  and  explain  the  mystery 
of  his  own  acts,  or  rather  mode  of  action,  in  the  moral  world. 

After  Elihu  had  spoken  and  finished,  then  God  himself  speaks  to 
Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  and  calls  upon  him  to  answer  before  him. 
He  convicts  Job  of  folly  in  attempting  to  judge  of  the  character  of 
God  and  of  the  correctness  and  righteousness  of  his  proceedings 
with  men,  when  he  is  not  able  even  to  understand  the  working  of 
his  power  in  the  external  world.  If  he  is  not  able  to  penetrate  the 
outer  fringes  of  his  works,  how  can  he  presume  to  understand  the 
deep  mysteries  involved  in  his  relations  to  man  as  a  moral  and  spir- 
itual being,  whom  he  has  made  in  his  own  image  and  destined  to 
be  his  companion  forever?  "Shall  he  that  contendeth  with  the 
Almighty  instruct  him?"  At  the  words  of  the  Lord  Job  bowed  him- 
self down  in  humility.  "Behold,  I  am  vile;  what  shall  I  answer 
thee?  I  will  lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth.  Once  have  I  spoken  ; 
but  I  will  not  answer:  yea,  twice;  but  I  will  proceed  no  further." 
(xl,  1-5.) 

I.— JOB   HUMBLED   BEFOBE    THE   LORD. 

When  the  Lord  had  finally  answered  Job  and  convinced  him  of 
his  folly  in  attempting  to  criticise  his  dealing  with  him.  Job  was 
abashed  and  truly  humbled.  He  was  so  far  in  sympathy  with  God, 
had  such  trust  in  him,  and  such  a  real  comprehension  of  the  essen- 
tial attribute  of  his  being,  that  is,  his  absolute  justice,  that  it  was 


136  JOB'S  CONFESSION  AND   RESTOEATION. 

easy  for  him  to  understand  what  God  said  to  him,  and  to  perceive 
how  and  where  he  had  been  mistaken — not  in  answering  his  friends, 
but  in  presuming  to  arraign  and  pass  judgment  on  the  action  of  the 
Lord  himself. 

1.  Job's  confession. — "1  know  that  thou  canst  do  everything, 
and  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee."  He  had  learned 
his  lesson.  When  God  caused  to  pass  before  Job's  mental  eye  the 
wonders  of  his  creation,  and  called  upon  him  to  answer  if  he  could 
understand  and  explain  the  mysteries  underlying  his  work  in  the 
physical  world,  including  those  of  life  and  created  being,  he  further 
asked  him  how  then  he  could  expect  to  understand  God  himself? 
How  had  he  dared  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  Almighty  when  he 
could  not  even  understand  his  works?  Job  sees  the  force  of  this 
argument  and  humbly  acknowledges  the  omnipotence  of  God.  "  I 
know  that  thou  canst  do  everything."  A  view  of  the  omnipotence  of 
God  in  all  the  breadth,  length,  depth,  and  height  of  it,  not  only  in  the 
outward  creation  itself  as  revealing  it  in  part,  but  in  the  wonderful 
rule  which  God  maintains  through  and  over  it  all,  tends  to  humble 
the  pride  of  man  before  him.  Job  was  now  feeling  how  insignifi- 
cant a  creature  he  was  compared  with  God,  and  was  also  beginning 
to  see  how  daring  he  had  been  in  presuming  to  criticise  the 
Almighty.  Not  only  did  he  get  a  view  of  his  own  littleness  in  this 
mirror  of  God's  omnipotence,  but  he  also  saw  another  thing,  namely, 
God's  omniscience.  ^'And  that  no  thought  can  be  hidden  from 
thee."  He  realized  now  that  God  had  read  him  through  and 
through,  and  knew  all  his  thoughts  as  he  could  not  know  himself. 
He  had  already  had  some  glimpses  of  himself  which  he  had  hitherto 
not  seen,  and  now  he  was  losing  that  self-confidence  which  had 
been  more  or  less  present  with  him  throughout  all  his  contention 
with  his  friends.  He  was  now  approaching  the  position  of  the 
Psalmist,  who  said,  "  Lord,  my  heart  is  not  haughty,  nor  mine  eyes 
lofty :  neither  do  I  exercise  myself  in  great  matters,  or  in  things  too 
high  for  me."  (Ps.  cxxxi,  1.)  A  while  ago  he  had  longed  to  find  God 
and  come  into  his  presence  and  order  his  suit  before  his  very 
throne.  He  thought  to  tell  God  all  about  himself,  as  though  God 
did  not  know.  He  was  greatly  cast  down  because  he  could  not  find 
God;  because  God  eluded  his  search  and  veiled  himself  from  his 
eyes.  He,  however,  had  comforted  himself  with  the  growing  con- 
viction that  God  knew  him  and  understood  him  thoroughly.  Now, 
since  God  had  searched  him  out  and  spoken  to  him,  he  was  humbled  as 
never  before,  and  was  ready  to  say :  "  O  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me, 
and  known  me,  .  .  .  and  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways.    For  there 


JOB   HUMBLED   BEFORE   THE   LORD.  137 

is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue,  but,  lo,  O  Lord,  thou  knowest  it  alto- 
gether. .  .  .  Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me  ;  it  is  high,  I  can- 
not attain  unto  it."  (Ps.  cxxxix,  1-6.)  Man  is  naturally  conceited, 
and  is  apt  to  think  what  he  does  not  know  is  not  worth  knowing. 
This  vicious  habit  of  the  haughty  human  mind  is  nowhere  displayed 
with  such  lamentable  presumption  as  when  man  sits  in  judgment 
upon  the  Almighty  and  his  ways.  There  be  things  which  we  do 
not  understand,  and  ways  with  God  that  are  past  our  finding  out ; 
but  to  presume,  therefore,  that  they  are  wrong  or  unwise  is  only  to 
expose  our  own  ignorance  and  pride,  and  bring  us  in  guilty  of  pre- 
sumption. 

2.  "I  am  the  man." — God  had  challenged  Job  with  these 
words :  "  Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge?"  (xxxviii,  2.)  And  before  God  had  spoken,  Elihu  had 
twice  charged  this  folly  upon  Job  :  "Job  hath  spoken  without  knowl- 
edge, and  his  words  were  without  wisdom."  "Therefore  doth  Job 
open  his  mouth  in  vain :  he  multiplieth  words  without  knowledge." 
(xxxiv,  35;  xxxv,  16.)  That  is,  with  an  insufficient  knowledge  of 
God,  Job  had  presumed  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  his  ways  ;  and  with- 
out a  sufficient  knowledge,  even  with  the  best  intentions,  to  pass 
judgments  is  to  veil  counsel  with  words.  Job  sees  this  now,  and  in 
answer  to  God  he  takes  the  words  out  of  his  mouth  and  applied  them 
to  himself.  God  had  said,  "  Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  with 
words  without  knowledge?"  Job  answers:  "lam  the  man."  He 
does  not  join  his  friends  with  himself  and  say  they,  too,  were  guilty 
(perhaps  even  more  so  than  himself).  God  was  dealing  with  Job, 
and  Job  bravely  stood  by  himself  before  God  and  regarded  not  others 
in  the  trial.  "I  am  that  man,  Lord,  who  hath  darkened  counsel 
with  words  without  knowledge."  "Therefore  have  I  uttered  that  I 
understood  not :  things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not." 
He  humbly  confesses  that  he  had  presumed  to  express  judgments 
upon  subjects  upon  which  he  was  not  competent  to  judge  because 
his  knowledge  of  them  was  insufficient.  This  mind  is  that  which 
approaches  unto  conversion.  It  is  the  mind  of  a  little  child  that 
does  not  pretend  to  knowledge,  and  not  that  of  the  wise  and  prudent 
who  pretends  to  all  knowledge,  and  therefore  only  succeeds  in 
demonstrating  himself  to  be  a  fool,  besides  throwing  a  veil  over  true 
knowledge  and  darkening  the  subject  under  discussion  as  well  as  his 
own  foolish  heart. 

3.  Job's  humility. — God  had  challenged  Job  to  stand  still 
while  he  questioned  him.  '^Gird  up  thy  loins  now  like  a  man:  I 
will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me."     (xxxviii,  3 ;  xl,  6.)  . 


138  JOB'S   CONFESSION  AND   RESTORATION. 

In  answer,  now,  to  that  challenge  twice  given  him,  Job  replies  in 
almost  the  same  language,  thus  showing  how  fully  he  recognized 
the  discipline  of  instruction  which  he  had  received  from  God. 
''  Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak :  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and 
declare  thou  unto  me."  That  is,  in  answer  to  the  Lord's  challenge, 
he  seeks  and  demands  attention  from  God  while  he  speaks  in  answer 
to  that  challenge.  And  what  is  his  answer?  '■'■  I  have  heard  of  thee 
by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eyes  see  thee."  That  is, 
"  Hitherto  I  have  judged  of  thee  by  what  I  have  heard  of  thee.  This, 
indeed,  was  enough  to  compel  my  glad  fear  and  reverence,  and  even 
when  thou  wast  dealing  with  me  in  a  way  I  could  not  understand 
and  that  seemed  like  injustice  to  me,  still  I  had  such  a  conception 
of  thy  character  that  I  believed  that  thou  wouldst  vindicate  thyself 
from  the  very  charge  I  made  against  thee.  But  now  I  have  come 
to  know  thee,  as  it  were,  by  the  sight  of  mine  eyes,  for  myself,  and 
not  through  report.  Thou  hast  revealed  thyself  to  me  and  shown 
me  how  much  greater  thou  art  than  I  have  conceived ;  how  narrow 
and  superficial  my  knowledge  of  thee  was ;  and  how  narrow  and 
mistaken  and  vain  my  ideas  were  of  myself.  The  result  of  all  this 
is  that  I  am  humbled  in  the  dust  before  thee.  A  little  while  ago 
when  thou  wast  talking  with  me  I  got  a  view  of  my  vileness  (xl,  4), 
but  now  I  abhor  myself  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  This  was 
Job's  answer  to  God.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  Job 
here  confesses  to  those  sins  and  horrible  crimes  which  his  three 
friends  had  charged  against  him — that  he  had  at  last  surrendered 
his  consciousness  of  innocence  and  his  "integrity,"  which  he  had 
been  fighting  for  so  desperately  against  his  friends  and  even  with 
God.  The  confession  he  now  makes  is  rather  of  the  sins  he  had 
been  guilty  of  since  his  afiiictions  had  come  upon  him,  namely,  those 
of  accusing  God  of  injustice  in  dealing  with  him  without  a  cause, 
and  generally  presuming  to  pass  judgment  on  the  Almighty.  His 
littleness,  his  general  vileness,  the  horrid  presumptuousness  of 
many  of  his  declarations,  were  overwhelming  him  with  a  sense  of 
shame.  On  the  point  of  general  sinfulness  he  had  made  frequent 
confessions  before  his  friends.  He  had  never  contended  that  he 
was  innocent  of  any  sin,  but  only  of  those  special  and  peculiar 
offenses,  heinous  and  desperate,  of  which  his  friends  had  accused 
him  in  order  to  account  for  his  sore  afiiictions.  Perhaps  he  had 
been  somewhat  self-righteous,  and  accounted  the  perfection  and 
uprightness,  his  godly  fear,  and  the  absence  from  his  life  of  evil 
which  God  had  ascribed  to  him,  to  be  the  natural  outgrowth  of  his 
own  character.     He  had  already  begun  to  get  such  glimpses  of  him- 


THE  CONDEMNATION  OF  THE  FRIENDS.  139 

self  and  of  God  as  to  have  led  Mm  to  suspect  that  even  his  goodness 
was  one  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  that,  in  fact,  whatever  of 
goodness  there  was  in  him  was  just  the  goodness  of  God  shining  in 
and  through  him.  (xxviii,  28.)  At  any  rate,  Job  is  completely 
humbled  before  God,  and  is  ready,  not  unwillingly,  to  take  his  place 
in  dust  and  ashes  before  his  feet.  Bold  as  he  had  been  to  maintain 
his  integrity  in  the  matters  charged  against  him  (and  as  he  would 
be  again),  yet  now  in  the  general  view  of  himself  which  he  had  got- 
ten from  a  sight  of  the  Lord,  he  could  say  only,  as  did  Peter,  falling 
at  the  feet  of  Christ :  ''I  am  a  sinful  man." 

II.— THE   CONDEMNATION  OF  THE   ERIENDS. 

Having  dealt  with  Job  for  his  unwisdom  and  foolish  presump- 
tion, God  now  turns  to  the  three  friends,  already  silenced  by  the 
words  of  Elihu,  and  speaks  to  them.  He  speaks  to  Eliphaz  the 
Temanite,  as  being  the  oldest  of  the  three,  the  wisest  of  them,  and 
their  natural  leader.  "My  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee,  and 
against  thy  two  friends :  for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing 
that  is  right,  as  my  servant  Job  hath." 

1.  Presumptuous  knowledge. — The  question  arises  as  to  how 
it  is  that  God  should  condemn  these  friends  and  justify  Job  as  to 
their  several  speeches.  They  had  spoken  "wrongly,"  but  Job  had 
spoken  "rightly."  And  yet  God  himself  had  charged  Job  with  hav- 
ing darkened  counsel  with  unwise  words.  The  difference  between 
Job's  speeches  and  theirs  was  in  this.  Job  had  spoken  unwisely, 
he  had  dared  to  criticise,  censure,  and  condemn  whatever  in  the 
dealings  of  God  had  seemed  unjust  and  wrong  to  him ;  but  in  it  all 
he  had  stoutly  contended  that  God  was  so  just  that  ho  could  not  do 
wrong  finally,  and  that  if  needs  be  he  would  even  clear  God  as 
against  himself,  (xvi,  21.)  If  he  had  charged  God  with  injustice, 
he  had  appealed  to  the  very  justice  of  God  to  set  him  right,  and  he 
had  such  confidence  in  God  that  he  never  doubted  that  his  truth 
would  finally  appear,  even  if  it  should  not  come  out  except  in 
another  world.  In  this  confidence  he  was  utterly  willing  to  die,  and 
even  lie  long  ages  in  ''hades"  and  wait  till  God  should  call  him 
forth.  In  all  this  Job  highly  honored  God.  His  sins  were  such  as 
grew  out  of  his  high  ideas  of  God,  not  being  educated  to  full  knowl- 
edge of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  the  three  friends,  and  especially 
Zophar,  who  was  a  narrow  dogmatist,  had  assumed  to  speak  for  God 
as  though  he  were  altogether  such  as  they  were  themselves.  They 
assumed  that  their  theory  of   evil  and  punishment  was  the  right 


140  JOB'S  CONFESSION  AND   RESTORATION. 

one ;  and  then  they  put  God  into  their  small  measure  and  inter- 
preted him  authoritatively,  and  spoke  as  though  they  had  authority, 
and  that  it  must  be  so  with  God  since  they  thought  so.  '^If  Job 
had  condemned  God  to  clear  himself  (xl,  8)  they  had  condemned 
Job  to  clear  God.  And  whereas  they  had  spoken  sincerely,  they 
had  paltered  with  their  consciences  and  forced  themselves  to  believe 
that  Job  must  have  sinned,  rather  than  admit  that  there  was  more 
in  the  moral  government  of  God  than  their  theology  had  dreamed 
of."  Job  had  caught  some  glimpse  of  this  spirit  in  them  as  early  as 
the  thirteenth  chapter.  "  Will  ye  speak  wickedly  for  God?  and  talk 
deceitfully  for  him?"  (xiii,  7.)  Therefore  God  condemned  these 
friends  while  he  accepted  the  person  of  Job,  especially  after  his 
deep  humility  and  penitence. 

2.  Atonement  appointed  for  the  friends. — God  was  justly 
angry  with  the  three  friends  for  their  misinterpretations  of  himself 
and  their  determined  misjudgment  of  Job,  and  appointed  an  atone- 
ment to  be  made  for  their  sin.  It  is  most  remarkable  that  in  this 
they  were  required  to  call  upon  the  very  man  whom  they  had  de- 
nounced as  being  the  vilest  of  all  vile  sinners  on  the  earth  to  act 
as  priest  and  intercessor  for  them.  This  was  a  bitter  humiliation 
to  them.  Yet  God  insists,  saying:  "For  him  (Job)  I  will  accept," 
that  is,  I  will  hear  his  prayers  in  your  behalf.  He  warned  them  that 
if  they  failed  to  make  this  atonement  and  cast  themselves  on  the  in- 
tercession of  Job  he  ''would  deal  with  them  after  their  folly,"  re- 
minding them  again  of  their  sin.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  three 
men  that  they  humbly  took  their  places  as  sinners  before  God,  and 
made  their  confession,  as  it  were,  to  Job,  and  accepted  his  interces- 
sion on  their  behalf.  It  was  a  bitter  dose  for  them,  but  then  sin  is 
a  desperate  disease,  and  requires  a  bitter  remedy.  So  they  ''went 
and  did  according  as  the  Lord  commanded  them.  The  Lord  also 
accepted  Job."  This,  I  think,  further  implies  that  Job  offered  an 
atonement  for  himself  also.  Perhaps  they  all  offered  together  and 
Job  ofSciated  as  priest  for  them  all,  they  making  their  confession 
through  him. 

III.— JOB'S   CAPTIVITY  TURNED. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  turning-point  in  Job's  history 
and  affairs  was  his  forgiveness  of  his  friends  who  had  so  bitterly 
outraged  him.  It  was  "when  he  prayed  for  his  friends "  that  the 
captivity  of  Job  was  turned. 

1.  The  healing  of  his  body. — I  suppose  the  minute  the  for- 
giveness went  out  of  his  heart  and  up  to  God  through  his  prayer  for 


JOB'S   CAPTIVITY   TURNED.  141 

his  friends,  then  divine  healing  went  forth  on  Job's  body,  and  the 
leprosy  left  him,  and  "  his  flesh  came  again  like  unto  the  flesh  of  a 
little  child." 

2.  His  reinstatement  in  possessions. — Not  only  did  Job  re- 
ceive the  healing  of  the  body,  but  God  reinstated  him  in  all  his 
wealth.  Yea,  he  gave  him  "  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before,"  and  the 
same  number  of  children  as  he  had  lost  (which,  with  those  whom 
he  had  taken  to  heaven,  would  make  double  in  this  respect),  as  well 
as  in  wealth  and  flocks  and  herds. 


XVIII. 

WISDOM'S   WARNING.— Proverbs  i,   20-33. 

(30)  Wisdom  crieth  without ;  she  uttereth  her  voice  in  the  streets :  (21) 
She  crieth  in  the  chief  place  of  concourse,  in  the  openings  of  the  gates:  in 
the  city  she  uttereth  her  words,  saying,  (22)  How  long,  ye  simple  ones,  will 
ye  love  simplicity?  and  the  scorners  delight  in  their  scorning,  and  fools 
hate  knowledge?  (23)  Turn  you  at  my  reproof:  behold,  I  will  pour  out  my 
spirit  unto  you,  I  will  make  known  my  words  unto  you.  (24)  Because  I 
have  called,  and  ye  refused ;  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man  re- 
garded ;  (25)  But  ye  have  set  at  nought  all  my  counsel,  and  would  none  of 
my  reproof :  (26)  I  also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity ;  I  will  mock  when  your 
fear  cometh;  (27)  When  your  fear  cometh  as  desolatior,  and  your  destruc- 
tion Cometh  as  a  whirlwind ;  when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you. 
(28)  Then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  they  shall  seek  me 
early,  but  they  shall  not  find  me :  (29)  For  that  they  hated  knowledge,  and 
did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord:  (30)  They  would  none  of  my  counsel: 
they  despised  all  my  reproof.  (31)  Therefore  shall  they  eat  of  the  fruit  of 
their  own  way,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  devices.  (32)  For  the  turning 
away  of  the  simple  shall  slay  them,  and  the  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy 
them.  (33)  But  whoso  hearkeneth  unto  me  shall  dwell  safely,  and  shall  be 
quiet  from  fear  of  e^al. — Proverbs  i,  20-33. 

Solomon  was  the  wisest  man  in  the  world.  His  wisdom  was 
largely  the  gift  of  God  in  answer  to  his  wise  prayer.  (II.  Chron. 
i,  10.)  Yet  he  must  from  the  beginning  have  been  wise  to  ask 
such  a  gift.  In  the  days  of  his  splendor  he  gathered  about  him 
a  company  of  wise  men,  who  gave  themselves  up  to  pious  study. 
He  was  the  wisest  of  them  all  (I.  Kings  iv,  29-32)  and  like  a 
magnet  he  drew  to  his  side  a  whole  host  of  men  who  were  fairly 
his  peers.  They  set  themselves  the  task  of  inquiring  into  the 
secret  of  all  things,  and  opening  to  the  world  the  wisdom  of  God. 
Solomon  is  said  to  have  spoken  "three  thousand  proverbs,"  and 
"his  songs  were  a  thousand  and  five."  These  many  proverbs  which 
he  spake  covered  almost  every  department  of  knowledge,  and 
were  drawn  from  his  extensive  observation  of  nature,  as  well 
as  of  men.  "He  spake  of  trees,  from  the  cedar  tree  that  is  in 
Lebanon  even  unto  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall :  he 
spake  also  of  beasts,  and  of  fowl,  and  of  creeping  things,  and  of 
fishes.  And  there  came  ot  all  people  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon, 
from  all  kings  of  the  earth,  which  had  heard  of  his  wisdom."  (I. 
Kings  iv,  33,  34.)     Solomon  lived  and  spake  his  wisdom  five  hundred 


WISDOM'S   WARNING.  143 

years  before  the  "  seven  wise  men  "  of  Greece,  and  seven  hundred 
years  before  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle.  It  is  most  likely  that 
the  wisdom  of  this  great  school  which  Solomon  founded  became 
known  through  the  various  dispersions  of  the  Jews  to  the  wise  men 
of  the  west,  and  that  they  drew  much  of  their  wisdom  from  this 
divinely  inspired  source.  Of  the  "three  thousand  proverbs"  spoken 
by  Solomon  only  comparatively  few  have  been  preserved  to  us, 
and  they  are  gathered  into  this  book.  These  are  they  which  bear 
upon  the  ethical  relations  and  duties  of  man,  and  have  evidently 
been  selected  from  the  great  mass  of  his  other  wise  sayings  because 
of  this  peculiarity.  The  Bible  is  not  a  book  compiled  with  a  view 
to  giving  secular  instruction,  but  for  the  purpose  of  leading  men  to 
God,  and  therefore  to  a  true  knowledge  of  him  and  his  will  concern- 
ing us.  This  book  has  been  called  "Wisdom  for  this  World,"  but 
it  is  essentially  wisdom  for  both  worlds  ;  for  it  is  certain  that  if  we 
do  not  get  wisdom  for  this  world  we  shall  not  have  it  for  the  world 
to  come.  The  word  of  God  is  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation, 
and  whatever  falls  short  of  that  mark  is  of  no  essential  use  to  man. 
There  are  several  things  which  are  of  importance  for  us  to  know 
in  studying  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  (i)  It  is  remarkable,  as  is 
the  Book  of  Job,  for  the  absence  from  it  of  all  reference  to  the  Sab- 
bath and  those  ceremonials  which  are  peculiar  to  the  religion  and 
writings  of  the  Jews.  The  story  of  Job  (which  was  probably  written 
in  the  same  period  of  time  that  gave  birth  to  the  Proverbs,  but 
was  based  upon  a  history  which  was  enacted  before  the  days  of 
Moses)  also  shows  knowledge  of  God  and  teaching  concerning  him 
which  is  unassociated  with  the  Jewish  ritual  and  ceremonial,  (ii) 
In  this  book,  as  well  as  in  Job,  we  are  taught  that  the  scope  of 
religion  is  much  wider  than  that  which  is  bound  by  ceremonial,  and 
that  the  wisdom  of  God  is  for  all  men,  and  not  alone  for  the  peculiar 
people  to  whom  he  committed  the  early  oracles.  It  is  essentially 
catholic  in  its  teaching,  and  deals  with  those  principles  of  religion 
which  are  common  to  the  nature  of  all  men.  In  many  respects  it  is 
anticipatory  of  the  Gospel,  and  agrees  in  its  teachings  with  what 
Paul  says  of  the  relation  of  God  to  all  men,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
The  Jews  indeed  are  judged  hy  the  law,  but  the  Gentiles,  "  without 
the  law."  (Rom.  ii,  14,  15.)  The  Proverbs  and  their  teachings  are 
directed  to  the  religious  nature  of  man,  whether  he  be  Jew  or  Gen- 
tile. "The  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom."  This  is  the 
motto  or  text  of  the  whole  book,  and  suggests  to  us  that  the  rever- 
ence and  awe  of  God,  which  is  by  nature  rooted  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  all  men,  is  the  basis  ot  all  religious  life ;  and  to  that  God 


144  WISDOM'S  WARNING 

appeals.  The  teaching  of  the  book  is,  as  we  have  said,  essentially 
ethical,  and  the  constant  reference  to  the  name  of  Jehovah  shows 
both  its  Hebrew  origin  and  the  great  truth  that  mere  morality  (or 
infidel  ethics)  is  not  acceptable  or  sufficient  for  man.  No  morality 
or  ethical  life  which  does  not  spring  out  of  the  "  fear  of  Jehovah " 
will  lift  man  out  of  the  littleness  and  weakness  of  his  own  nature 
or  deliver  him  from  the  downward  tendencies  of  the  sin  which  has 
entered  into  his  life.  Morality  without  God  is  the  attempt  of  man 
to  lift  himself  out  of  himself  without  fulcrum;  whereas  morality 
loitli  God  gives  to  man  Jehovah  himself  as  his  lever. 

The  first  six  verses  of  the  book  constitute  the  introduction  to  the 
whole.  They  were  probably  written  by  another  hand  than  that  of 
Solomon.  Though  they  ascribe  the  whole  book  to  him,  it  is  done 
on  the  same  principle  that  we  ascribe  the  Psalms  to  David,  because 
he  was  the  principal  writer  of  them.  We  know  from  the  book  itself 
that  parts  of  it  were  written  by  other  hands,  e.  g.,  the  last  two 
chapters,  which  are  ascribed  respectively  to  Agur  and  Lemuel  the 
king.  Certain  portions  of  the  book  were  not  written  out  and 
arranged  until  the  days  of  Hezekiah,  who  caused  his  scholars  to 
gather  up  and  incorporate  the  portion  under  this  section  with  the 
rest  of  the  sayings,  (xxv,  1.)  The  first  nine  chapters  represent 
connected  discourse,  and  it  is  probably  the  sublimest  portion  of  the 
whole.  These  chapters  should  be  read  as  such,  and  not  as  discon- 
nected and  fragmentary  proverbs. 

I.— THE  PREACHING  OF  WISDOM. 

The  great  address  contained  in  the  first  nine  chapters  is  intro- 
duced by  the  text :  '^The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom." This  truth  is  repeated  over  and  over  again  and  fully  ex- 
panded in  the  eighth  chapter,  which  is  a  larger  statement  of  the 
truths  more  briefly  stated  here,  (viii,  20  ff.)  "Wisdom"  is  the 
first  and  mightiest  of  the  many  words  which  the  preacher  piles  up 
in  the  beginning  of  his  discourse,  in  order  to  bring  out  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  thought  and  teaching.  In  the  eighth  chapter  he 
personifies  this  word,  and  henceforth  speaks  of  wisdom  as  we  would 
of  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  ultimate  reference 
of  this  word  is  to  our  Lord,  who  is  essentially  the  "Wisdom  of 
God."  (John  i,  1 ;  I.  Cor.  i,  30;  Col.  ii,  3.)  Wisdom  has  been  de- 
fined "  as  the  power  by  which  human  personality  reaches  its  highest 
spiritual  perfection,  by  which  all  lower  elements  are  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  highest,"  and  therefore  "can  hardly  be  thought 


THE   PREACHING   OF   WISDOM.  145 

of  as  other  than  personal,  life-giving,  creative."  The  student  should 
carefully  read  the  eighth  chapter  in  connection  with  this  portion. 
The  twenty-eighth  of  Job  is  also  suggested. 

1.  God  will  have  all  men  ton  be  saved. — The  wisdom  of  the 
Greeks  (and^  indeed,  of  all  the  ancients  except  the  Hebrews)  was 
reserved  for  the  learned,  and  was  taught  in  the  small  academies  and 
higher  schools  for  and  to  the  learned  only.  This  was  because  with 
them  msdom  was  speculative  and  not  personal.  It  was  treated  as 
the  outgrowth  of  man's  own  intellect,  and  not  the  revelation  of  the 
personal  and  loving  God.  Here  we  may  understand,  with  our  fuller 
and  larger  light,  that  by  "  wisdom  "  is  meant  the  revelation  of  God 
which  had  its  highest  expression  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "And 
the  Word"  (Wisdom  of  God)  ^'  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us 
(and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father),  full  of  grace  and  truth."  (John  i,  14.)  "Wisdom  crieth 
without."  *'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  wisdom  to  every 
creature,"  '^for  God  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved."  Therefore, 
Jesus,  as  the  great  Teacher  and  Redeemer  of  men,  is  testified  to  all, 
in  due  time.  (I.  Tim.  ii,  1-7.)  The  Gospel  is  "to  bring  all  men 
unto  the  obedience  of  faith."  (Rom.  i,  5.)  "  She  uttereth  her  voice 
in  the  streets."  Here  wisdom  is  spoken  of  as  being  feminine  in  gen- 
der ;  but  in  the  original  the  word  is  plural  in  form,  and  perhaps 
suggests  to  us  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  all  uniting  in  their  entreaty  to  men  to  cease  from  the  folly 
of  sin,  and  learn  the  wisdom  of  holiness  and  life.  We  can  almost 
see  in  these  words  the  picture  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preaching 
and  teaching  in  the  streets,  by  the  wayside,  in  the  houses  of  the 
people,  in  the  Temple,  and  in  the  synagogues  —  "in  the  chief 
places  of  concourse,  in  the  openings  of  the  gates,  in  the  city," 
where  the  masses  of  the  people  dwell — as  in  later  times  the  apos- 
tles, being  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  wisdom,  went  everywhere  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  on  the  Sabbaths  in  the  synagogues,  and  between  the 
Sabbaths  in  the  market-places.  (Acts  xvii,  17.)  We  have  a  vivid 
picture  of  Wisdom  "crying,"  in  that  scene  which  shows  us  Jesus 
"in  the  last  day,  the  great  day  of  the  feast,"  standing  and  crying; 
"K  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me,  and  drink."  (John  vii, 
37.)  We  ought  to  learn  this  lesson,  that  the  Gospel  is  to  be 
preached  everywhere  and  to  all  people,  and  not  to  be  shut  up  in 
certain  ^'consecrated  places,"  as  though  it  were  too  exclusive  for 
common  people,  and  might  only  be  heard  under  restricted  and 
limited  conditions.  Jesus  taught  the  woman  of  Samaria,  and 
through  her  all  men,  that  "  neither  in  this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jeru- 


146  WISDOM'S  WARNING. 

salem"  shall  men  "worship  the  Father"  (John  iv,  21),  but  in  every 
place  where  the  Spirit  can  come. 

2.  Wisdom's  entreaty. — The  attitude  of  Wisdom  toward  men 
is  that  of  tender  entreaty  and^olemn  exhortation.  God  is  most 
earnest  in  his  desire  that  '^all  men  should  be  saved."  Three  classes 
of  men  are  addressed,  (i)  "Ye  simple  ones."  Those  thoughtless 
and  careless  people  who  lay  themselves  easily  open  to  all  the  temp- 
tations which  come  upon  men;  the  heedless,  gay,  pleasure-loving 
people,  who  take  no  thought  for  the  morrow  of  their  lives,  but  give 
themselves  up  to  every  passing  influence,  without  consideration ; 
that  vast  mass  of  people  whom  we  see  everywhere  floating  down 
the  current  of  this  world  without  an  attempt  to  stem  the  tide  of 
their  natural  and  lower  inclinations,  whose  only  thought  seems  to 
be  to  ''eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,"  with  the  things  of  this  world  and 
for  the  space  of  this  life  only.  There  is  surprise  expressed  at  the 
length  of  time  they  have  given  themselves  up  to  this  course  of  folly. 
During  a  certain  period  God  seems  to  give  men  up  to  their  own 
courses,  as  though  both  his  goodness  and  their  own  folly  would 
surely  bring  them  to  repentance ;  but  after  a  time  he  speaks  out 
and  "commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent."  (Acts  xvii,  30.) 
A  beautiful  parallel  to  this  passage,  ''How  long  will  ye  love  sim- 
plicity?" is  found  in  Isaiah  Iv,  2  :  "Wherefore  do  ye  spend  money 
for  that  which  is  not  bread?  and  your  labor  for  that  v*:hich  satisfieth 
not  ?  Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good, 
and  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness."  There  is  infinite  ten- 
derness in  this  entreaty,  (ii)  "  The  scorn ers."  These  are  they 
who,  rising  out  of  simplicity  or  mere  thoughtlessness,  seem  to  take 
delight  in  "mocking  at  all  the  good  which  God  would  bring  to 
them."  They  scoff  at  religion  as  though  it  were  not  worthy  either 
of  their  "great  minds,"  or  worth  wasting  their  precious  time  and 
talents  upon.  These  are  they  who  say  religion  "  is  good  enough  for 
women  and  children,"  but  not  for  them.  They  assume  many  roles. 
Sometimes  they  become  scientific,  and  say  that  it  is  impossible  that 
there  should  be  any  revelation,  even  if  there  be  a  God  at  all. 
Sometimes  they  become  indignant  and  denounce  religion  as  some- 
thing which  comes  to  dwarf  the  mind  of  man  and  reduce  him  to  a 
bondage  of  superstition,  which  they  proudly  reject  on  the  plea  of 
maintaining  their  "moral  and  intellectual  freedom."  They  "delight 
in  their  scorning."  The  entreaty  to  them  is  tinged  with  a  harsher 
tone,  and  there  is  a  latent  sarcasm  in  it;  yet  God  will  have  "all 
men  to  be  saved,"  even  the  scorn er;  and  so  he  speaks  to  them  as 
well  as  to  the  simple,     (iii)  The  "fools"  who  "hate  knowledge." 


THE   PREACHING   OF   WISDOM.  147 

These  are  they  who  have  become  obstinate  in  their  conceit,  per- 
verse and  bitter  in  their  rejection  of  the  truth  which  they  have 
despised ;  such  as  say  in  their  hearts :  "  There  is  no  God "  (Ps. 
xiv,  1);  who,  "professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became 
fools."  (Rom.  i,  22.)  Vain  in  their  own  imaginations,  their  foolish 
hearts  have  become  ''darkened"  by  the  sins  which  they  have  loved, 
and  which  they  would  not  surrender  in  order  to  obtain  the  wisdom 
of  God  that  maketh  "wise  unto  salvation,"  and  purifies  and  en- 
nobles the  life.  These  are  the  worldly  fools  who  stake  all  their 
happiness  on  the  possessions  and  pleasures  of  this  life.  (Luke  xii, 
xvi.) 

3.  Wisdom's  exhortation,— So  good  is  God,  and  so  merciful 
and  long-suffering,  that  he  still  strives  with  all  classes  of  sinners, 
and  will  not  leave  them  so  long  as  there  is  any  possibility  of  win- 
ning them.  "  Turn  ye  at  my  reproof."  Here  is  counsel  of  the  best 
kind.  God  reproves  sinners,  but  only  in  order  that  he  may  win 
them  from  sin.  His  reproofs  are  all  given  in  mercy.  His  reproofs 
are  those  of  a  father  who  loves,  and  not  of  an  enemy  who  flings 
forth  bitter  words  of  hatred.  The  first  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
whom  Jesus  sent  into  the  world  to  continue  his  work  among  men, 
is  to  ''reprove  the  w^orld  of  sin."  (John  xvi,  8,  9.)  Along  with  this 
reproof,  which  is  full  of  heavenly  argument,  there  is  a  most  gracious 
promise  :  "  My  Spirit  is  upon  thee,  my  words  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth." 
(Is.  lix,  21.)  Here  is  an  anticipatory  promise  of  that  which  is  more 
fully  given  elsewhere  of  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  men.  Joel 
fully  expressed  it  in  those  gracious  words:  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  afterward  that  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  (Joel 
ii,  28.)  This  promise  was  in  part  fulfilled  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
when  Jesus  sent  the  "promise  of  the  Father"  upon  his  disciples, 
and  it  is  made  secure  to  all  men  in  the  words  of  Christ  wherein  he 
says :  "  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him?"  (Luke  xi,  13.)  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  life.  God  will  give  that  Holy  Spirit  to  any 
one  who  will  turn  at  his  reproof  and  seek  his  face.  That  Spirit  is 
the  Spirit  which  regenerates  sinners  and  begets  them  as  sons  of 
God.  (John  iii,  1-5.)  Many  thousands  of  years  have  given  proof 
of  the  truth  of  this  gracious  promise.  But  God  says  more.  "I  will 
make  known  my  words  unto  you."  Not  only  the  spirit  of  wisdom, 
but  the  words  of  wisdom,  too.  Not  the  Spirit  alone  without  the 
articulate  words  whicli  enable  us  to  understand ;  not  words  alone 
without  the  Spirit,  which  would  leave  us  only  with  knowledge  which 


148  WISDOM'S  WARNING. 

might  puff  up  but  could  not  save  us ;  but  both  together,  each  doing 
its  appointed  work.  '^The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they^re 
spirit  and  they  are  life."  (John  vi,  63.)  Therefore,  when  the  Gos- 
pel is  preached,  it  is  not  preached  "  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost"  (I.  Thess.  i,  5) ;  '^with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven."  (I.  Pet.  i,  12.)  It  is  impossible  not  to  see  the 
foreshadowings  of  the  Gospel  in  this  beautiful  passage. 

II.— A  NOTE  OF  WARNING. 

God's  purpose  is  salvation.  His  desire  is  that  all  men  should  be 
saved.  He  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  any  man  that  dieth. 
He  "will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  and  to  come  imto  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth."  He  is  "  long-suffering,"  '^  slow  to  anger,  and  plenteous  in 
mercy  "  ;  but  there  is  that  in  sin,  whether  it  is  the  sin  of  the  simple, 
of  the  scorner,  or  of  the  stubborn  fool,  which  will  bring  down  upon 
it,  if  persisted  in,  the  destruction  of  the  sinner.  God  instructs,  en- 
treats, and  rebukes.  If  men  will  not  turn  at  his  reproof,  then  he 
warns  them  of  the  consequences. 

1.  God  clears  himself  of  all  blame. — There  are  those  w^ho 
speak  hard  things  of  God,  saying  that  he  takes  pleasure  in  the 
destruction  of  sinners ;  that  he  is  a  cruel  and  revengeful  God ;  that 
punishment  appointed  to  sinners  is  arbitrary  and  vindictive.  God 
clears  himself  of  this  charge.  He  does  nothing  out  of  mere  arbi- 
trary sovereignty.  And  no  sinner  goes  down  into  the  pit  except 
against  and  in  the  face  of  God's  protest  and  entreaty.  "I  have 
called,  and  ye  refused ;  I  have  stretched  out  my  hands,  and  no 
man  regarded."  This  is  in  harmony  with  God's  warning  to  Israel. 
(Is.  Ixv,  12;  Jer.  xiii;  Ezek.  viii,  18.)  It  also  reminds  us  of  what 
Jesus  said  to  the  Jews  in  his  day :  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  .  .  . 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  .  .  .  and  ye 
would  not."  "And  ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have 
life."  The  words  of  the  Apostle  are  to  the  same  effect :  "But  to  Israel 
he  saith.  All  day  long  I  have  stretched  forth  my  hands  to  a  diso- 
bedient and  gainsaying  people."  (Matt,  xxiii,  37 ;  John  v,  40 ; 
Rom.  X,  21.)  Is  this  not  the  forerunner  of  the  parable  of  our  Lord 
in  Matthew  xxii,  in  which  we  see  how  the  people  "made  light"  of 
the  Gospel  call  and  "'  with  one  accord  began  to  make  excuse  1 " 

2.  The  fault  is  the  sinner's. — Of  course  sinners  are  at  fault, 
and  therefore  guilty  of  their  ow^n  sins.  Sinners  are  not  finally  lost 
hecause  they  are  sinners,  but  because  when  mercy  and  salvation 
come  to  them  and  are  pressed  upon  them,  they  iiHll  not  be  saved. 


TOO   LATE.  149 

"  Ye  have  set  at  naught  all  my  counsel  and  would  none  of  my  re- 
proof." God  gives  good  counsel  and  loving  and  merciful  entreaty. 
He  also  reproves  that  he  may  save ;  but  if  sinners  will  refuse,  and 
will  not  regard  and  will  set  at  naught  God's  counsel,  and  have  none 
of  his  reproof,  there  is  nothing  for  them  but  to  perish  in  their  sin. 
What  more  can  God  do  than  he  has  done?  Will  not  every  mouth 
be  stopped  in  that  day  when  God  exposes  his  dealings  with  men  for 
the  judgment  of  the  intelligent  universe?  There  is  here  a  state- 
ment which  at  first  shocks  our  Christian  sensibility.  God,  or  Wis- 
dom, is  represented  as  laughing  and  mocking  with  a  divine  and 
terrible  irony  when  the  wicked  (who  would  not  be  saved,  and  who 
mocked,  scoffed  at,  and  scorned  all  the  divine  mercy)  find  them- 
selves overwhelmed  in  the  calamities  which  their  sins  finally  bring 
upon  them.  There  is  a  Nemesis  in  judgment  which  is  terrible. 
God  is  thus  represented  as  sitting  in  the  heavens  and  laughing  at 
all  the  machinations  of  the  earth-powers  against  Jesus.  (Ps.  ii.) 
It  is  bold  and  terrible  imagery,  yet  it  does  not  convey  the  idea  of 
flippancy  or  mere  lightness  with  God,  but  the  awful  retribution  to 
wliich  the  willful  sinner  is  condemned.  Jesus  is  represented  as 
weeping  over  sinners  who  refuse  his  mercy,  but  in  the  judgment  he 
also  is  terrible.     (Rev.  vi,  16,  17.) 

3.  The  doom  of  the  wicked. — For  a  time  the  wicked  seem  to 
prosper  and  God  appears  not  to  take  account  of  their  sins.  This  is 
his  long-suffering  mercy,  and  not  "  slackness  "  or  forgotten  wrath. 
Sinners  in  health  and  the  enjoyment  of  their  sins  can  mock  and 
scoff  and  boast  of  their  confidence  against  God,  but  there  is  a  storm 
of  wrath  gathering,  and  their  "  fear  shall  come  upon  them  as  deso- 
lation, and  their  destruction  like  a  whirlwind."  (Zech.  vii,  11-14.) 
"Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  wonder  and  perish,"  said  the  Apostle  to 
those  who  refused  and  rejected  the  counsel  of  God's  gracious  Gospel. 
(Acts  xiii,  41.)  That  was  only  the  echo  in  the  New  Testament  of 
these  teachings  and  warnings  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  the  sinner 
is  responsible  for  the  sudden  destruction  that  comes  upon  him,  and 
not  God.  "Therefore  shall  they  eat  the  fruit  of  their  own  way, 
and  be  filled  with  their  own  devices."     (v.  31.) 

III.— TOO  LATE. 

However  brave  a  sinner  may  be  in  health  and  prosperity,  and 
however  confident  he  may  be  against  the  day  of  wrath  when  it  is 
far  from  him,  when  it  comes  like  sudden  destruction  and  the  burst- 
ing of  the  whirlwind  upon  him,  he  who  would  none  of  God's  counsel, 


150  WISDOM'S   WARNING. 

and  refused  when  God  called,  will  then  himself  call  upon  God.  But 
it  will  be  too  late.  He  will  indeed  be  eating  the  fruit  of  his  own 
way.  "  Then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  they 
shall  seek  me  early,  but  they  shall  not  find  me  :  for  that  they  hated 
knowledge,  and  did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord."  (Gen.  vi,  3 ; 
Jer.  xiv,  12.)  Therefore  all  their  ruin  has  come  upon  them.  I  sup- 
pose we  are  to  understand  that  this  vain  call  will  be  in  the  next 
world  after  judgment  has  been  carried  out,  as  in  the  case  of  the  rich 
man.     (Luke  xvi,  19-31.)     The  lesson  closes  with  two  observations. 

1.  The  danger  of  heedlessness. — "The  turning  away  of  the 
simple  shall  slay  them."  Let  not  those  careless,  light-hearted  sin- 
ners, who  take  refuge  in  the  thought  that  they  "are  not  so  very 
bad,"  think  that  their  comparative  innocence  of  gross  sins  or  open 
infidelity  shall  save  them.  It  is  enough  that  they  "neglect  this 
great  salvation."  ''How  then  shall  they  escape?"  (Heb.  ii,  3.) 
"The  turning  away  of  the  simple  shall  slay  them."  Let  not  those 
sinners  who  have  prospered  in  their  stubborn  folly  deceive  them- 
selves. That  very  prosperity  (which  they  have  taken  as  an  evidence 
that  God  regards  neither  righteousness  nor  wickedness,  and  that 
moral  actions  have  nothing  to  do  with  moral  consequences)  only 
deceives  them.     "  The  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy  them." 

2.  A  final  entreaty. — It  seems  that  God  cannot  let  the  matter 
rest.  He  turns  again  to  entreat,  to  warn,  and  admonish.  He  does 
it  this  time  with  a  promise :  "  Whoso  hearkeneth  unto  me  shall 
dwell  safely^  and  shall  be  quiet  from  fear  of  evil."  Fellowship  with 
God  is  safety  and  peace  at  the  same  time.  Surely  the  highest  at- 
tainment of  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  beginning  of  it,  is  "  the  fear  of 
the  Lord." 


XIX. 

THE   VALUE   OF  WISDOM.— Proverbs  iii,   11-24. 

(11)  My  son,  despise  not  the  chastening  of  the  Lord ;  neither  he  weary 
of  his  correction :  (12)  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  correcteth ;  even  as  a 
father  the  son  in  whom  he  delighteth.  (13)  Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth 
wisdom,  and  the  man  that  getteth  understanding :  (14)  For  the  merchan- 
dise of  it  is  better  than  the  merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than 
fine  gold.  (15)  She  is  more  precious  than  rubies:  and  all  the  things  thou 
canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto  her.  (16)  Length  of  days  is  in  her 
right  hand ;  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honour.  (17)  Her  ways  are 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  aU  her  paths  are  peace.  (18)  She  is  a  tree  of  life 
to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her:  and  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her. 
(19)  The  Lord  by  wisdom  hath  founded  the  earth  ;  by  understanding  hath 
he  established  the  heavens.  (20)  By  his  knowledge  the  depths  are  broken 
up,  and  the  clouds  drop  down  the  dew.  (21)  My  son,  let  not  them  depart 
from  thine  eyes:  keep  sound  wisdom  and  discretion:  (22)  So  shall  they  be 
life  unto  thy  soul,  and  grace  to  thy  neck.  (23)  Then  shalt  thou  walk  in  thy 
way  safely,  and  thy  foot  shall  not  stumble.  (21)  When  thou  liest  down, 
thou  shalt  not  be  afraid:  yea,  thou  shalt  lie  down,  and  thy  sleep  shall  be 
sweet.— Proverbs  iii,  11-34. 

The  second  chapter  of  this  wonderful  book  treats  further  of  the 
excellency  of  wisdom,  and  exhorts  the  student  to  seek  after  her,  and 
sets  forth  some  of  the  spiritual  benefits  of  walking  in  her  ways.  It 
also  contains  a  solemn  warning  against  the  dangers  of  yielding  to  a 
common  and  dreadful  sin  which  certainly  leads  its  victim  dovra  to 
death.  The  third  chapter  opens  with  an  exhortation  to  memory  in 
favor  of  the  law  of  wisdom ;  to  keep  close  fellowship  with  mercy 
and  truth ;  to  trust  in  the  Lord  and  not  to  lean  unto  one's  own  under- 
standing, and  in  all  our  ways  to  acknowledge  God ;  to  fear  the  Lord 
and  depart  from  evil ;  to  honor  the  Lord  with  the  first-fruits  of  our 
substance,  and  promises  in  return  abundant  temporal  blessing.  Thus 
are  we  taught  that  godliness  is  profitable  both  for  the  soul  and  the 
body,  yielding  rich  rewards  and  returns  both  in  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral fruits.  How  happy  is  the  young  man  who  carefully  attends 
to  the  divine  advice  couched  in  this  magnificent  address  ! 

I.— THE   FIRST  BEATITUDE. 

Before  entering  upon  a  detailed  account  of  the  value  of  wisdom, 
the  preacher  king  once  more  exhorts  his  son  not  to  despise  the  chas- 


152  THE   VALUE   OF   WISDOM. 

tening  of  the  Lord,  nor  to  bo  weary  of  his  corrections.  Wo  have 
been  but  recently  studying  this  exhortation  in  connection  with  the 
Book  of  Job,  which  is  devoted  to  a  lengthened  and  elaborate  illus- 
tration of  the  profound  truth  that  affliction  from  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  has  to  do  with  the  culture  and  training  of  the  human  spirit. 
In  this  exhortation  we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  similarity  of 
thought,  teaching,  and  language  contained  in  Job.  It  points  clearly 
to  the  fact  that  the  writer  of  that  sublime  poem  belonged  to  the 
school  of  wisdom  that  gathered  about  the  wise  king.  The  mystery 
of  human  suffering  must  always  be  a  perplexing  and  distressful  one 
to  all  who  have  not  learned  the  lesson  which  the  preacher  here  again 
enforces  upon  his  "  son."  Suffering  is  no  proof  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  again  and  again  declared  to  be  the  result 
and  outcome  of  divine  love.  The  old  theology  of  nature  and  phi- 
losophy could  make  nothing  out  of  affliction  except  that  it  was  pun- 
ishment sent  for  grievous  sins  committed.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  in  the  natural  course  of  things  virtue  brings  prosperous  re- 
wards and  vice  bears  bitter  fruit  of  evil.  This  truth  stands  true  to 
the  end.  "He  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap 
corruption."  (Gal.  vi,  8.)  In  this  law  God  will  not  be  mocked. 
The  same  truth  is  set  forth  by  Paul  again  in  Eomans  viii,  13, 
and  also  in  the  book  we  are  studying.  "  He  that  soweth  iniquity 
shall  reap  vanity,  and  with  the  rod  of  his  (God's)  anger  shall  fail." 
(Prov.  xxii,  8 ;  Job  iv,  8 ;  Hos.  x,  13 ;  Ps.  i,  4.)  But  this  is  not  the 
whole  truth.  God  has  other  uses  for  affliction  than  that  of  punish- 
ment, as  Job  and  his  friends  found  out.  He  would  have  all  his 
children  know  that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  afflictions  sent 
upon  the  wicked  as  punishment,  and  afflictions  sent  upon  his  chil- 
dren as  chastisement.  ''Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth." 
"As  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten."  (Heb.  xii,  6;  Rev. 
iii,  19.)  There  are  latent  excellencies  and  possibilities  of  char- 
acter which  seem  never  to  come  to  the  front  except  under  the  stress 
and  pressure  of  trial.  It  is  a  hard  lesson  for  us  to  learn,  and  it  can- 
not be  learned  unless  we  take  heed  to  Wisdom,  and  out  of  her  divine 
storehouse  draw  out  understanding.  When  we  are  told  that  even 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  whom  he  loved 
above  all  things,  in  whom  "his  soul  delighted,"  was  made  "perfect 
through  suffering"  (Heb.  ii,  10),  we  should  certainly  understand  that 
suffering  is  also  a  minister  of  salvation  to  us,  and  with  meekness 
and  patience  learn  to  endure  it,  not  to  despise  it,  or  even  be  weary 
of  it.  The  testimony  of  ten  thousand  saints  proves  that  suffering 
patiently  endured  in  the  faith  of  God's  love  and  wisdom  softens  as 


THE   FIRST  BEATITUDE.  153 

well  as  strengthens  character,  and  fits  for  all  those  highest  and  holi- 
est communions  which  God  has  in  reserve  for  his  saints. 

1.  The  blessing  of  the  knowledge  of  God. — The  Beatitude  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  forms  of  God's  teaching.  The  first  Psalm 
gives  us  a  fine  example  of  the  beatitudes  scattered  throughout  the 
whole  Bible.  Our  Lord's  wonderful  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  another 
example  of  this  form  of  teaching ;  so  are  the  beatitudes  of  the  Book 
of  Revelation.  These  beatitudes  are  pronounced  upon  man  in  con- 
nection with  many  things,  but  here  we  have  a  special  one  in  connec- 
tion with  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom.  We  have  already  pointed 
out  that  wisdom  when  personified  is  taken  to  mean,  first,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Eternal  Wisdom  of  God ;  and  second,  that  highest 
form  of  knowledge  which  we  call  religion  or  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
Now  the  man  that  finds  Jesus  Christ  and  possesses  him,  and  in  him 
the  knowledge  and  peace  of  God,  is  the  "  happy  man  "  among  men. 
There  is  no  happiness  on  earth  that  can  compare  with  that  which 
flows  from  a  real  heart-knowledge  of  God.  In  that  possession  we 
'^rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  (I.  Pet.  i,  8.) 
This  wisdom  is  a  possession  to  be  found.  It  is  worthy  to  be 
searched  after.  Job  longed  to  find  the  place  where  it  was  hidden, 
for  he  was  satisfied  that  only  as  he  found  this  priceless  treas- 
ure could  he  solve  his  present  difficulties  and  come  to  a  peaceful 
understanding  of  the  ways  of  God.  (Job  xxviii,  12,  20.)  It  is  not 
to  be  found  in  the  schemes  or  imaginings  of  men ;  it  is  not  to  be 
found  in  minute  scientific  search  into  the  secrets  of  nature.  It  has 
pleased  God  in  his  wisdom  that  the  world  by  its  wisdom  shall  not 
find  God ;  but  he  hath  reserved  it  for  the  "  babes "  in  spirit,  who 
attend  to  the  word  of  his  revelation,  and  hide  not  their  faces  from 
Jesus  Christ,  who  only  hath  revealed  God.  (Job  xxviii,  20,  21 ;  Matt, 
xi,  25;  I.  Cor.  i,  21;  ii,  7-10;  John  i,  18.)  When  this  wisdom  is 
found  the  happy  man  is  further  blessed  in  the  '^ getting  of  under- 
standing," that  is,  in  drawing  out  its  treasures  and  using  them  in 
the  practical  details  of  life.  Knowledge  is  of  no  advantage  to  us 
unless  wo  use  it,  just  as  all  riches  avail  not  to  benefit  us  unless  we 
draw  out  of  them  for  our  use.  A  theoretical  Christian  is  a  vain 
Christian,  but  an  experimental  one  is  a  happy  one. 

2.  The  treasures  of  wisdom. — "  The  merchandise  of  it  is  better 
than  the  merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than  fine  gold." 
The  traffic  in  pure  silver  and  gold  was  carried  to  a  great  extent  in 
the  days  of  Solomon.  These  silver  and  gold  merchants  were  like  the 
great  bankers  of  our  day.  The  king  would  have  us  know  that  the 
traffic  in  wisdom  was  infinitely  better  than  all  the  profits  arising 


154  THE   VALUE   OF   WISDOM. 

from  the  buying  and  selling  of  silver  and  gold.  Wo  are  again  re- 
minded of  the  glowing  i^anegyric  bestowed  on  wisdom  by  Job  (xxviii, 
15-20),  and  of  the  evidence,  in  the  similarity  of  the  language  found 
in  both  these  books,  that  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Job,  if  not  Solo- 
mon himself,  was  one  of  his  wise  men,  most  likely  Heman.  (I.  Kings 
iv,  31.)  Wisdom  '4s  more  precious  than  rubies,  and  all  the  things 
thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto  her."  This  language 
is  the  wildest  extravagance  if  it  is  applicable  only  to  human  wisdom, 
be  it  of  the  very  highest  type.  For  of  human  wisdom  we  have 
abundant  testimony  that  God  regards  it  but  as  foolishness  with  him. 
But  recurring  again  to  wisdom  as  being  the  type  and  foreshadowing 
of  Jesus  Christ,  we  easily  understand  the  reference  to  him  of  whom 
it  is  said :  "  It  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  fullness 
dwell ;  "  '^  In  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge." (Col.  i,  19;  ii,  3.)  When  we  think  of  all  the  treasures  of 
grace  (he  is  "full  of  grace  and  truth,"  ''and  of  his  fullness  have 
all  we  received,  and  grace  for  grace,"  John  i,  14,  16)  that  are  in 
Christ — forgiveness,  justification,  regeneration,  righteousness,  sanc- 
tifieation,  and  redemption — then  we  can  understand  this  comparison. 
What,  indeed,  are  silver  and  gold,  rubies  and  all  things  that  one 
could  desire,  in  comparison  with  the  riches  in  Christ,  "  the  riches 
of  his  glory,"  "the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace,"  and  all  "the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ"?     (Eph.  i,  7,  18;  ii,  7;  iii,  8,  16.) 

3.  Length  of  days,  riches,  and  pleasure. — The  wise  king, 
speaking  further  of  the  riches  of  wisdom,  enumerates  several  other 
things,  (i)  "Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand."  It  does  not 
always  follow  that  every  true  Christian  shall  have  length  of  days 
in  this  ivorlcl,  though  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  quiet  of  mind, 
peace  of  conscience,  and  the  general  high  moral  tone  of  those 
who  have  the  wisdom  of  God  all  tend  to  the  health  of  the  body 
and  so  to  the  prolongation  of  life.  There  is,  however,  I  think, 
an  obscure  hint  at  immortality  here ;  that  everlasting  life  which 
is  guaranteed  in  Jesus  Christ  by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
It  was  the  lament  of  Job  that  man  "is  of  few  days  and  full  of 
trouble  "  (Job  xiv,  1) ;  but  then  Job  was  speaking  as  one  who  had 
not  found  wisdom,  and  knew  not  the  secret  place  of  her  dwell- 
ing. This  immortality  (length  of  days)  is  the  gift  of  Wisdom's 
right  hand.  In  her  left  hand  she  presents  "riches  and  honor" — 
the  true  riches  which  do  not  take  to  themselves  wings  and  fly 
away,  and  the  true  honor  which  cometh  from  God  and  not  from 
man.  Yet  it  is  still  true  that  religion,  truly  possessed  and  truly 
lived,  tends  to  substantial  prosperity  and  to   honor   among  men. 


THE  FIRST  BEATITUDE.  155 

Religion  is  the  highest  wisdom  for  this  life  even,  (ii)  ''Her  ways 
are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace."  Here  is  a 
beautiful  description  of  the  path  of  the  just,  "that  shineth  more  and 
more  unto  the  perfect  day."  How  utterly  out  of  this  path  are  those 
who  think  fellowship  with  God  takes  all  the  pleasure  out  of  life  and 
destroys  peace.  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you ;  my  peace  I  give  unto 
you,"  said  Jesus  to  his  sorrowing  disciples.  ''The  peace  of  God, 
which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall  keep  your  hearts  and  minds 
through  Christ  Jesus,"  said  the  Apostle.  (John  xiv,  27  ;  Phil,  iv,  7.) 
"On  earth  peace  good  will  towards  men,"  was  the  first  note  in 
the  song  of  the  angel  who  announced  the  birth  of  the  Eternal  Wis- 
dom of  God  into  this  foolish  world  of  ours.  It  is  the  way  of  the 
transgressor  that  is  hard,  while  the  yoke  and  burden  of  Christ  are 
easy  and  light.  The  world  is  never  so  wrong  as  when  it  assumes  and 
declares  that  religion  takes  the  sunshine  out  of  life.  If  Paul  could  de- 
clare his  contentment  in  prison,  in  hunger,  in  emptiness,  in  stripes, 
and  afflictions  (Phil,  iv,  11),  how  much  more  is  life  full  of  pleasant- 
ness when  these  things  are  absent.  It  is  the  companionship  of  God 
that  makes  life  beautiful,  and  all  the  highways  and  every  by-patli 
of  life  pleasant  and  full  of  quiet  peace.  The  teaching  of  this  verso 
is  that  in  every  circumstance  of  life  the  possessor  of  wisdom  finds 
pleasantness  and  is  secure  against  fear.  Is  he  not  in  God's  world? 
Is  he  not  God's  child?  Has  he  not  the  prospect  even  of  a  ."better 
country  "  when  he  is  done  with  this  one  ?  Is  he  not  steadily  leav- 
ing all  his  evil  things  behind  him  and  going  on  to  his  good,  better, 
and  best  things  ?  It  is  not  thus  with  the  sinner,  whose  only  pos- 
sessions and  pleasure  are  in  this  life.  He  is  leaving  those  good 
things  behind  him,  youth,  friends,  pleasures  (which  cloy  and  are 
worn  out  with  much  use),  health,  and  life  itself,  and  is  going  on  to 
those  evil  things  which  await  the  ungodly  in  the  next  world.  Surely 
this  is  true,  that  Wisdom's  ways  are  pleasant  and  her  paths  are 
peace.  The  sun  shines  more  brightly  to  the  Christian  because  it  is 
God's  sun.  The  world  is  more  beautiful  because  it  is  God's  world, 
after  all.  All  things  in  the  world  are  more  lovely  and  grateful 
because  God  has  put  them  here  for  his  children  to  enjoy.  God's 
children  are  at  peace  in  the  world  because  they  are  in  their  Father's 
world.  The  children  of  sin  are  in  God's  world,  but  as  being  alien- 
ated and  estranged  from  him ;  and  though  they  get  some  of  the  good 
things  in  this  world,  they  get  them  without  a  Father's  blessing,  and 
as  thieves  and  robbers  get  things  and  enjoy  (?)  them. 

4.  Wisdom  is  the  tree  of  life.— In  this  passage  there  is  the 
undoubted  reference  to  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  the  tree  of  life, 


156  THE   VALUE   OF   WISDOM. 

which  was  guarded  after  the  Fall.  Lost  by  reason  of  sin,  it  is 
regained  in  Christ,  the  Wisdom  of  God.  ''This  is  life  eternal,  that 
they  might  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
thou  hast  sent."  (John  xvii,  3.)  Eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  God 
to  them  that  lay  hold  on  Wisdom.  There  is  no  flaming  sword  turn- 
ing every  way  to  prevent  a  sinner  coming  to  this  tree  of  life,  but 
rather  now  cherubim  of  the  flaming  sword  stand  to  guard  the 
way  and  keep  it  open  for  sinners.  ''  Whosoever  will,  let  him  come." 
This  is  God's  imperative  command  to  all  who  would  hinder.  But 
Christ  must  be  laid  hold  of.  He  must  be  possessed  by  the  willing 
choice  of  man,  else  there  is  no  life  in  him  for  man.  Life,  being  the 
gift  of  God,  must  be  the  voluntary  clioice  of  man.  ''Happy  is  every 
one  that  retaineth  her."  Is  there  an  intimation  here  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  losing  eternal  life  after  having  once  been  possessed  of  it?  I 
think  not.  It  is  rather  the  added  statement  of  blessing  to  those  who, 
having  found  Wisdom,  cleave  to  her.  It  is  the  suggestion  of  contrast. 
How  miserable  must  the  man  be  who,  having  once  known  the  joy 
of  life,  the  ways  of  peace  and  pleasantness,  loses  hold  on  such  bless- 
ings !  There  may  be  here  also  a  suggestion  of  the  truth  spoken  by 
Jesus:  "He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  (Matt,  x, 
22. )  So  good  a  gift  is  worthy  of  being  held  fast  by  the  possessor, 
and  ought  not  to  be  lightly  esteemed. 

II.— WHAT  WISDOM   IS   TO   GOD. 

Hitherto  the  king  has  been  speaking  of  Wisdom  in  relation  to 
man,  but  in  this  passage  he  changes  the  direction  of  his  thought  and 
speaks  of  Wisdom  in  relation  to  God.  We  are  still  to  understand 
the  reference  to  the  Eternal  Word  or  Wisdom  of  God.  He  who  is 
everything  to  us  is  also  everything  to  God.  He  by  whom  all  the 
wonders  and  treasures  of  the  new  creation  are  made  sure  to  us  is  he 
by  whom  "  all  things  consist,"  and  without  whom  "was  not  anything 
made  that  was  made."  The  same  things  attributed  to  Wisdom  in  this 
passage  are  attributed  to  the  Word  of  Jehovah  in  the  sixth  verse  of 
the  Thirty-third  Psalm,  and  to  Jesus  the  "  Word  "  in  the  first  chapter 
of  John,  and  also  at  large  and  length  by  the  Apostle  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  letter  to  the  Colossians. 

1.  The  earth  founded  by  wisdom. — "The  Lord  by  wisdom 
hath  founded  the  earth ;  by  understanding  hath  he  established  the 
heavens."  "All  things  were  made  by  him;  and  without  him  was 
not  anything  made  that  was  made."  (John  i,  3.)  "By  him  were  all 
things  created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and 


EXHORTATION  AND   PROMISE.  157 

invisible."  (Col.  i,  16.)  The  reference  of  the  king  to  the  part  played 
by  Wisdom  in  the  creation  refers  us  back  to  the  original  story  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis.  The  references  of  John  and  Paul  to  the  part  taken 
in  the  creation  by  Jesus  Christ  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  iden- 
tity of  the  ^'Wisdom  "  of  Solomon  and  the  ''Eternal  Word  "  of  John. 
2.  The  earth,  stored  and  supplied  by  wisdom.— ''By  his 
knowledge  the  depths  are  broken  up,  and  the  clouds  drop  down  the 
dew."  Here  is  another  reference  to  the  story  in  Genesis.  (Gen.  i, 
2,  7  ;  vii,  11.)  The  story  of  the  Wisdom  in  creation  is  wonderfully, 
beautifully,  and  sublimely  told  by  God  himself  in  his  answer  to  Job 
(Job  xxxviii)  which  is  one  of  the  finest  passages  in  the  Bible.  We 
are  reminded  here  of  the  two  great  sources  of  the  earth's  supply  of 
water,  which  means  life  to  all  living  creatures.  "  The  depths  "  refer 
to  the  great  stores  of  water  which  are  always  laid  up  in  the  earth, 
from  which  come  forth  the  springs  and  into  which  the  wells  are 
sunken.  The  "clouds"  are  those  great  reservoirs  of  water  which 
hang  suspended  in  the  atmosphere  ready  to  drop  forth  the  dew,  or 
pour  down  the  rain,  as  the  earth  shall  need  it  according  to  the  wis- 
dom and  understanding  of  God.  We  cannot  sufficiently  study  and 
admire  the  wonderful  works  of  God  as  our  Creator  and  Preserver. 
If  God  uses  wisdom  in  his  work  and  administration,  we  are  likewise 
encouraged  by  the  divine  example  thus  set,  to  seek  after  it  and  to 
use  it  in  our  sphere  as  God  does  in  his. 

III.— EXHORTATION  AND   PROMISE. 

The  wise  king  concludes  this  section  of  his  address  by  an  ex- 
hortation to  a  careful  watch  over  Wisdom,  and  makes  promises  on 
Wisdom's  behalf  to  such  as  are  careful  to  find  and  to  keep  her. 

1.  Wisdom  is  to  be  carefully  kept. — Wisdom  is  not  a  gift 
to  be  lightly  set  store  by.  "My  son,  let  not  them  depart  from 
thine  eyes,"  that  is,  "sound  wisdom  and  discretion."  These  are 
most  precious  treasures,  and  are  to  be  kex)t  under  watchful  eyes 
and  guarded  as  a  man  guards  his  jewels.  This  exhortation  is  like 
that  of  Christ  to  his  disciples,  who  bade  them  "watch  and  pray'* 
in  the  face  of  temptation.  There  are  many  enemies  at  work  to 
seduce  young  men  from  the  path  of  wisdom  even  after  they  have 
entered  upon  it,  and  to  rob  them  of  this  divine  gift  even  after  they 
have  possessed  themselves  of  it.  "Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast, 
that  no  man  take  thy  crown."     (Rev.  iii,  11.) 

2.  Wisdom  is  an  ornament  to  the  life.— Wisdom  is  not  only 
life  unto  our  souls,  but  grace  unto  our  necks.    Religion  is  necessary 


158  THE  VALUE  OF  WISDOM. 

for  our  salvation,  but  it  is  more  than  that,  it  is  an  ornament  to  our 
lives.  There  is  nothing  more  beautiful  in  a  man's  life  than  that 
consistent  carrying  out  in  all  his  ways  of  the  holy  precepts  of  God's 
law,  and  the  consistent  exemplification  of  the  life  of  Christ.  If  we 
are  bidden  to  "  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  "  (Tit.  ii,  10),  it  is  no  less 
true  that  this  doctrine  will  adorn  us.  The  beauty  of  holiness  is  a 
beauty  beyond  that  of  the  most  costly  and  gorgeous  jewels. 

3.  Wisdom's  ways  are  safe  ways. — In  a  former  passage  we 
are  told  that  the  ways  of  Wisdom  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all 
her  paths  are  peace.  Here  the  thought  and  promise  is  carried  fur- 
ther, and  the  king  tells  his  son  that  guarding  Wisdom  and  adorning 
life  with  it,  he  shall  walk  safely  and  his  foot  shall  not  stumble.  The 
main  reason  is  that  walking  in  Wisdom's  way  keeps  us  out  of  the 
paths  where  danger  lies.  The  wicked  are  involved  in  dangers  and 
stumble  and  fall  because  they,  not  being  accompanied  by  Wisdom, 
are  led  into  temptation  and  places  of  danger.  The  promise  further 
adds  that  we  shall  lie  down  without  fear.  God  becomes  our  pro- 
tection, and  we  sleep  in  this  world  with  a  conscience  at  peace  with 
God,  and  know  that  nothing  can  finally  do  us  any  harm.  "Thou 
shalt  lie  down,  and  thy  sleep  shall  be  sweet."  There  is  no  pillow  so 
soft  and  no  sleeping-potion  so  sweet  as  friendship  with  God.  To  lie 
down  with  unforgiven  sin  on  our  conscience,  knowing  that  should  we 
die  ere  we  wake  again  we  should  go  cut  into  a  world  of  darkness, 
must  give  sinners  more  or  less  trouble.  Whereas  the  Christian  may 
sleep  sweetly  even  in  the  face  of  death,  for  he  knoweth  that  even  if 
death  comes  in  the  night  watches  he  will  awaken  in  the  presence  of 
God.*  An  old  Christian  very  near  to  death's  door  was  composing 
himself  to  sleep,  not  knowing  whether  he  would  awake  again  in  this 
world.  He  was  asked  if  he  did  not  hesitate  to  go  asleep  when  he 
knew  himself  to  be  so  near  to  the  brink  of  death.  '^No,"  he  replied, 
^^I  am  not  afraid.  If  I  should  die  before  I  awake  I  shall  be  with 
the  Lord ;  on  the  other  hand,  should  I  awaken  again,  in  time,  the 
Lord  will  still  be  with  me."  In  this  he  but  expressed  the  confidence 
of  the  Apostle,  who  said :  ^^  Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  know- 
ing that,  whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the 
Lord :  .  .  .  and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be 
present  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  we  labor,  that,  whether  present 
or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of  him."     (II.  Cor.  v,  6-9.) 

*  "He  who  leans  on  the  Father's  breast 
May  sleep  when  storms  are  nigh." 


XX. 

FRUITS    OF   WISDOM.— Proverbs   xii,    1-15, 

(1)  Whoso  loveth  instruction  loveth  knowledge:  but  lie  that  hateth  re- 
proof is  brutish.  (2)  A  good  man  obtaineth  favour  of  the  Lord :  but  a  man 
of  wicked  devices  will  he  condemn.  (3)  A  man  shall  not  be  established  by 
wickedness:  but  the  root  of  the  righteous  shall  not  be  moved.  (4)  A  virtu- 
ous woman  is  a  crown  to  ber  husband:  but  she  that  maketh  ashamed  is  as 
rottenness  in  his  bones.  (5)  The  thoughts  of  the  righteous  are  right :  but 
the  counsels  of  the  wicked  are  deceit.  (6)  The  words  of  the  wicked  are  to 
lie  in  wait  for  blood:  but  the  mouth  of  the  upright  shall  deliver  them. 
(7)  The  wicked  are  overthrown,  and  are  not :  but  the  house  of  the  righteous 
shall  stand.  (8)  A  man  shall  be  commended  according  to  his  wisdom :  but 
he  that  is  of  a  perverse  heart  shall  be  despised.  (9)  He  that  is  despised,  and 
hath  a  servant,  is  better  than  he  that  honoureth  himself,  and  lacketh 
bread.  (10)  A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast:  but  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel.  (11)  He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  be  satis- 
fied with  bread:  but  he  that  followeth  vain  persons  is  void  of  understand- 
ing. (13)  The  wicked  desireth  the  net  of  evil  men:  but  the  root  of  the 
righteous  yieldeth  fruit.  (13)  The  wicked  is  snared  by  the  transgression  of 
his  lips:  but  the  just  shall  come  out  of  trouble.  (14)  A  man  shall  be  satis- 
fled  with  good  by  the  fruit  of  his  mouth:  and  the  recompense  of  a  man's 
hands  shall  be  rendered  unto  him.  (15)  The  way  of  a  fool  is  right  in  his  own 
eyes:  but  he  that  hearkeneth  unto  counsel  is  wise.— Proverbs  xii,  1-15. 

With  the  tenth  chapter  the  character  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
changes  from  the  sustained  and  homiletical  to  the  fragmentary  and 
strictly  proverbial.  The  proverbs  of  Solomon  (x,  1)  are  from  here 
gathered  together.  Out  of  the  three  thousand  w^hich  he  is  said  to 
have  spoken  (I.  Kings  iv,  32),  a  little  more  than  three  hundred  have 
been  given  us.  These  are  of  a  strictly  ethical  character.  They  were 
probably  selected  and  arranged  by  Solomon  himself,  or  at  least  under 
his  direction.  They  consist  of  brief,  pithy  sayings,  in  which  the  whole 
thought  of  the  speaker  is  compressed  into  a  single  short  sentence. 
The  form  is  usually  antithetic,  that  is,  he  compares  or  contrasts  the 
good  man  with  the  bad  man,  and  the  fruits  or  results  of  the  life  and 
sayings  of  the  one  with  those  of  the  other.  Usually  he  makes  the  bad 
man,  his  devices,  and  the  results  of  his  life  the  background  against 
which  he  throws  the  picture  of  the  righteous  man  and  his  fruits, 
though  sometimes  he  changes  this  order.  The  thought  seldom  extends 
into  two  sentences,  and  there  is  little  or  no  connection  between  any 
one  proverb  and  the  next.    Each  proverb  stands  by  itself.    There  is 


160  FRUITS  OF   WISDOM. 

apparently  no  arrangement  at  all  in  tlie  order  of  them.  They  seem  to 
have  been  taken,  as  it  were,  at  random  from  a  commonplace  book  in 
which  the  speaker  or  his  reporter  jotted  them  down  as  they  occurred 
to  him  or  were  heard  to  fall  from  his  lips.  There  are  certain  charac- 
teristic words,  and  they  are  all  constructed  according  to  the  gener- 
ally received  ethical  teachings  of  the  day  and  the  school  of  Solomon. 
Virtue  and  vice,  righteousness  and  wickedness,  bring  their  own 
rewards,  especially  in  this  life.  '^  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap,"  is  the  law  of  the  proverbs.  A  good  and  virtuous 
man  will  in  the  end  reap  happiness  and  prosperity ;  whereas  the 
wicked  and  deceitful  man  will  ultimately  be  overthrown  and  snared 
in  his  own  meshes.  The  good  man  not  only  prospers  himself,  but 
contributes  to  the  prosperity  of  others ;  the  bad  man  suffers  the  con- 
sequences of  his  own  wickedness  alone,  without  the  help  of  others  to 
bear  them.  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  treat  any  number  of 
these  proverbs  (thus  groujDed  together)  in  a  homiletical  way.  They 
must  be  taken  separately  and  studied  one  by  one.  The  general 
object  to  be  attained  by  the  study  of  these  proverbs  is  stated  in  the 
first  six  verses  of  the  opening  chapter  of  the  book. 

1.  The  gracious  and  the  brutish  man.  (v.  1.) — The  contrast 
here  set  up  is  between  the  man  who  gladly  seeks  and  uses  the  means 
of  grace,  and  the  self-contained,  carnal  man  who  despises  and  rejects 
all  instruction  in  the  divine  or  spiritual  life. 

(i)  The  instruction  here  spoken  of  is  instruction  in  wisdom  or 
spiritual  life.  The  truly  gracious  man,  or,  as  we  may  say,  the  truly 
converted  man,  desiring  all  the  time  more  and  more  knowledge  of 
God  and  of  Christ,  the  true  Wisdom,  will  always  be  grateful  for 
instruction  in  divine  things.  He  will  eagerly  use  all  the  means  of 
grace  which  may  come  to  his  hand  or  which  he  may  obtain  by 
searching  after  it.  Mere  conversion  is  not  enough.  God  converts 
us  in  order  that  we  may  be  instructed  in  righteousness  and  thereby 
''grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  (II.  Pet.  iii,  18;  Col.  i,  10.)  To  this  end  he  has  given  us 
his  Word  and  appointed  and  fitted  teachers  (Eph.  iv,  11-14 ;  I.  Cor. 
xii,  28),  that  we  may  be  ''conformed"  and  "transformed"  into  the 
very  image  of  Christ.  (Rom.  xii,  2;  II.  Cor.  iii,  18.)  Such  a  man 
will  be  found  in  the  house  of  God  listening  to  the  teacher  whom  God 
has  set  over  him  ;  he  will  be  found  reading  his  Bible  and  diligently 
searching  the  Scriptures  as  the  Bereans  did,  and  as  Nathanael  and  the 
Eunuch  did ;  and  he  will  be  much  and  earnestly  in  prayer  for  more 
knowledge,  as  Paul  was.  (John  i,  48 ;  Acts  viii,  30  :  xvii,  11 ;  Phil,  iii, 
10.)     With  David  he  says  :   "One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord, 


FRUITS   OF   WISDOM.  161 

that  will  I  seek  after ;  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all 
the  days  of  my  life,  to  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  inquire 
in  his  temple."    (Ps.  xxvii,  4.) 

(ii)  '^The  brutish  man"  is  the  man  who  ignores  his  spiritual 
nature,  and  is  so  far  nothing  more  than  a  horse  or  a  dog,  for  the 
difference  between  the  man  and  the  brute  is  essentially  this,  that 
one  has  a  spiritual  nature  and  the  other  has  not.  To  deny  the  spir- 
itual nature,  therefore,  and  neglect  all  instruction  in  the  wisdom  of 
God,  is  to  act  and  to  be  little  more  or  better  than  a  brute.  Such  a 
man  hates  reproof.  He  resents  all  religious  instruction,  and  refuses 
to  make  any  inquiry  into  the  things  of  God.  He  is  offended  if  you 
speak  to  him  about  a  soul,  and  seeks  only  the  things  that  belong  to 
this  present  life.  To  him  the  Bible,  the  Church,  prayer,  and  all 
religious  associations  are  objectionable  and  exceedingly  distasteful. 

2.  The  good  and  the  wicked  man.  (v.  2.) — The  ''good "man 
is  here  the  same  character  as  in  the  former  verse,  only  he  is  de- 
scribed by  a  word  which  denotes  his  actions  rather  than  his  desires 
and  motives. 

(i)  ''A  good  man  obtaineth  favor  of  the  Lord."  A  man  is  just 
according  to  the  favor  which  he  obtains  from  the  Lord.  The  favor 
of  the  Lord  is  just  the  gi-ace  of  God  worked  out  into  blessing.  It 
is  said  of  Samuel  and  Jesus  that  they  grew  and  were  in  favor  with 
God  and  man.  (I.  Sam.  ii,  26 ;  Luke  ii,  52.)  Nothing  could  be  more 
desirable  than  to  have  such  a  blessing  as  this.  ''Whoso  findeth 
me  findeth  life,  and  shall  obtain"  (or  bring  forth)  "favor  of  the 
Lord."  (Prov.  viii,  35. )  This  is  the  good  man's  portion,  not  as  a  reward 
of  his  goodness,  but  as  the  accompaniment  of  it,  and,  farther  back, 
the  cause  of  it.  With  God's  favor,  we  may,  if  need  be,  dispense 
with  the  favor  of  man,  but  in  reality  those  who  are  in  favor  with 
God  are  usually  so  with  man.  (Acts  ii,  47  ;  Rom.  xiv,  18. )  There  is 
a  suggestion  in  the  word  "obtains"  which  signifies  to  "draw  out." 
God  is  a  great  storehouse  of  grace,  and  the  good  man  is  at  liberty 
to  "draw  out"  from  that  storehouse  all  the  grace  which  he  needs 
or  desires.     He  may  have  as  much  as  ever  he  wants. 

(ii)  "But  a  man  of  wicked  de^dces  will  he  condemn."  The  man 
who  slights  the  favor  of  God  and  seeks  to  profit  his  life  by  his  own 
counsel  usually  falls  into  the  habit  of  making  wicked  or  ungodly 
plans  and  schemes  to  bring  about  his  ends.  In  this,  as  we  shall  see 
further  on,  he  usually  fails,  and  besides  that,  falls  under  the  con- 
demnation of  God.  The  whole  difference  between  a  good  man  and 
a  bad  man  is  that  one  lives  in  fellowship  with  God  and  has  his  favor, 
and  the  other  rejects  the  counsel  of  God,  leans  to  his  own  under- 


162  FRUITS   OF   WISDOM. 

standing,  invents  wicked  devices,  and  falls  under  God's  condemna- 
tion. A  man  should  be  very  courageous,  not  to  say  very  foolish,  to 
live  deliberately  without  God. 

3.  The  fruit  of  wickedness  and  righteousness,  (v.  3.) — In 
this  proverb  the  wicked  man  is  spoken  of  first,  and  the  contrast  is 
between  the  end  or  fruits  of  the  different  characters. 

(i)  '^A  man  shall  not  be  established  by  wickedness."  A  man 
without  God  may  sometimes  by  wickedness  succeed  for  the  time  being 
in  obtaining  his  earthly  desires.  He  may  by  dishonesty  grow  rich  ; 
he  may  by  falsehood,  cunning,  and  intrigue  obtain  the  high  places 
and  the  great  prizes  of  life  ;  but  by  wickedness  he  can  never  estab- 
lish himself.  ''That  prosperity  which  is  raised  by  sin  is  built  on 
sand,  and  so  it  will  soon  appear."  Ill-gotten  gains  do  not  usually 
abide,  and  will  not  deliver  a  man  in  the  day  of  wrath  (Prov.  xi,  4) ; 
and  the  high  places  attained  by  wickedness  are  ''slippery  places  " 
(Ps.  Ixxiii,  18),  and  from  them  his  feet  will  soon  slide. 

(ii)  "  But  the  root  of  the  righteous  shall  not  be  moved."  A  good 
man  may  not  always  be  able  to  compete  with  the  man  of  wicked 
devices,  but  what  he  secures  will  usually  stay  by  him,  and  he  will 
get, more  happiness  out  of  his  little,  righteously  come  by,  than  the 
wicked  does  out  of  his  abundance  attained  by  wicked  devices.  His 
root  "shall  not  be  moved."  Even  if  he  lose  what  he  has  gained  in 
this  world,  or  adversity  like  a  fierce  wind  blows  away  all  prosperity 
from  him  (as  the  storms  do  the  fruit  and  even  the  branches  from  the 
tree),  yet,  being  rooted  in  Christ,  that  root  shall  abide,  and  if  his 
branches  do  not  spread  themselves  widely  and  flourish  in  this  world, 
they  will  spring  up  from  the  root  in  the  next  world  and  bear  fruit  of 
infinite  blessedness.  Even  in  this  world,  being  so  planted,  he  shall 
have  the  comprehension  of  the  love  of  Christ  and  be  filled  with 
all  the  fullness  of  God,  which  is  better  than  all  worldly  prosperity. 
(Eph.  iii,  14-19.) 

4.  The  virtuous  wife  and  the  one  that  maketh  ashamed, 
(v.  4.) — Here  we  have  a  proverb  concerning  wives. 

(i)  "A  virtuous  woman  is  a  crown  to  her  husband."  The  word 
virtue  implies  energy  and  strength  of  character  rather  than  mere 
chastity.  (Ruth  iii,  11;  II.  Pet.  i,  5.)  Such  a  woman  is  fully  de- 
scribed in  the  thirty-first  chapter,  from  the  tenth  to  the  thirty-first 
verses — a  woman  who  is  careful  and  thrifty,  not  given  to  the  mere 
frivolities  of  the  world,  but  strong  and  energetic  in  the  discharge  of 
all  wifely  duties  and  household  business.  Such  a  one  is  a  crown  to 
her  husband.  In  her  possession  he  is  as  happy  as  a  king.  A  crown 
is  both  an  ornament  and  a  symbol  of  gladness  and  power.   (Song  of 


FRUITS   OF   WISDOM.  163 

Solomon  iii,  11.)  So  the  man  who  is  blessed  with  a  good  wife  is 
himself  adorned  by  her,  and  his  place  and  power  are  vastly  increased 
among  men.  Many  a  man  owes  all  that  he  is  in  the  world  to  a 
virtuous  wife.  ''He  that  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing,  and 
obtaineth  favor  of  the  Lord,"  provided  she  be  a  virtuous  woman. 

(ii)  "But  she  that  maketh  ashamed  is  as  rottenness  in  his  bones." 
This  is  the  silly,  frivolous  woman,  who  neglects  her  duties  and  gads 
about,  doing  and  saying  foolish  things.  Truly,  as  Matthew  Henry 
says,  *'He  that  is  plagued  with  a  bad  wife  is  as  miserable  as  if  he 
were  on  a  dunghill."  He  is  wretched  at  home  and  ashamed  of  her 
among  other  men,  especially  those  who  have  good  wives.  His  mis- 
ery in  the  possession  of  such  a  woman,  to  whom  he  is  bound  for  life, 
is  as  if  he  were  afflicted  with  leprosy,  i.  e.,  ''rottenness  in  his  bones." 
Miserable  at  home,  he  is  ashamed  of  her  abroad. 

6.  Right  thoughts  and  deceitful  counsels,  (v.  5.) — Here  we 
are  taught  the  great  importance  of  right  thoughts  and  motives,  and 
what  comes  of  them. 

(i)  "The  thoughts  of  the  righteous  are  right."  The  proof  of  a 
man's  character  and  the  strength  of  it  are  in  his  thoughts.  "As  a 
man  thinks,  so  is  he."  Actions  are  only  thoughts  embodied.  A 
truly  righteous  man  is  one  in  whom  the  Spirit  of  Christ  dwells,  and 
the  trend  of  his  thoughts  will  be  right  and  so  his  life  will  conform 
to  his  thinking.  We  are  exhorted  to  "think"  on  all  right  things 
(Phil,  iv,  8),  as  a  means  of  spiritual  culture.  A  righteous  man  may 
be  afflicted  with  evil  or  vain  thoughts,  but  he  will  not  entertain  or 
cherish  them,  but  hate  them,  as  David  did.     (Psalm  cxix,  113.) 

(ii)  "The  counsels  of  the  wicked  are  deceit."  A  good  man  is 
continually  thinking  good  and  honest  thoughts,  seeking  out  how  he 
may  benefit  not  only  himself  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  but  how  he 
may  benefit  others.  On  the  other  hand,  the  wicked  man  is  thinking 
wicked  things ;  is  not  frank  and  honest  in  his  motives ;  is  always 
suspicious  himself — being  evil  he  thinks  others  are  like  himself; 
and  his  counsels  are  dictated  by  deceit,  that  he  may  act,  as  the  say- 
ing is,  "with  a  long  reach,  and  succeed  by  an  overreach."  We  are 
warned  against  the  cherishing  of  such  evil  thoughts  against  our 
neighbors  to  take  advantage  of  them.  "Beware  that  there  be  not 
a  thought  in  thy  wicked  heart,  saying,"  etc.     (Deut.  xv,  9,  10.) 

6.  Wicked  words  and  upright  speech,  (v.  6.) — Here  we  have 
an  advance  from  thoughts  to  deeds. 

(i)  "The  words  of  the  wicked  are  to  lie  in  wait  for  blood." 
They  seek  to  deceive  with  their  words  in  order  to  destroy  those 
whom  they  hate.     A  man  may  commit  murder  with  his  thoughts  and 


164  FRUITS   OF   WISDOM. 

words.  So  the  Jews  laid  in  wait  for  Christ  and  sought  to  take  him 
in  his  words  that  they  might  deliver  him  over  to  death.  (Luke  xx, 
21,  22.)  This  is  a  very  common  form  of  sin.  E^dl-speaking  and 
slander  is  a  part  of  this  murderous  habit. 

(ii)  ^'But  the  mouth  of  the  upright  shall  deliver  them."  The 
wicked  seek  by  deceitful  and  false  words  to  destroy  the  lives  or 
characters  of  men ;  whereas  the  mouth  or  the  words  of  the  upright 
are  at  the  service  of  those  in  need,  and  will  come  to  their  help  in 
time  of  need.  Many  a  good  man,  by  speaking  a  good,  kind,  or  en- 
couraging word,  has  put  heart  and  hope  into  the  discouraged  and 
freed  others  from  suspicion  or  false  accusation.  Such  good  may  be 
done  by  a  single  word  rightly  and  fitly  spoken. 

7.  The  overthrow  of  the  wicked  and  the  house  of  the 
righteous,  (v.  7. ) — There  is  similar  teaching  in  verse  three  and 
in  X,  25,  30.  These  verses  are  a  better  commentary  than  we  can 
offer. 

(i)  ''The  wicked  are  overthrowTi."  They  have  built  upon  sand, 
and  though  they  may  prosper  for  a  time  they  are  sure  to  come  down. 
Their  sin  is  certain  to  find  them  out  in  the  end.  They  stand  in  such 
slippery  places  that  the  least  touch  will  send  them  fl.ying  down  to 
destruction.     Envy  not  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.    (Job  iv,  8,  9.) 

(ii)  '^  The  house  of  the  righteous  shall  stand."  The  prosperity  of 
the  righteous  has  a  good  foundation.  It  is  built  upon  a  rock.  Death 
may  cut  them  off,  but  their  house  is  one  that  has  God  for  its  guaran- 
tor. They  shall  find  in  heaven  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  and 
God  will  preserve  their  families  on  earth  and  maintain  their  good 
name  among  men. 

8.  Wisdom  and  perversity,  (v.  8.) — Here  we  have  a  contrast 
between  the  final  judgment  upon  the  character  of  the  man  of  wis- 
dom and  of  the  man  of  a  perverse  heart. 

(i)  ''A  man  shall  be  commended  according  to  his  wisdom." 
The  sincerity  of  a  man's  piety  will  be  the  true  measure  of  his  repu- 
tation as  well  as  the  gauge  of  his  character.  In  the  end  a  sincerely 
godly  man  is  respected  even  by  wicked  men.  His  reputation  does 
not  depend  upon  his  riches,  but  on  his  personal  worth.  Character 
and  reputation  do  not  always  go  together,  but  in  the  long  run  they 
will  appear  neck  and  neck  at  the  judgment  both  of  God  and  men. 

(ii)  ''He  that  is  of  a  perverse  heart  shall  be  despised."  The  man 
of  crooked  character  and  deceitful  ways  may  make  his  way  in  the 
world,  and  if  for  the  time  being  he  is  successful,  will  have  syco- 
phants about  him :  but  in  the  long  run  he,  too,  will  be  estimated 
according  to  his  true  worth.     Men  will  despise  him  (though  they 


FRUITS   OF   WISDOM.  165 

fawn  upon  him)  and  God  will  condemn  him.     '^  Everlasting  shame 
and  contempt "  are  the  portion  of  the  perversely  wicked. 

9.  Humility  and  pride,  (v.  9.) — Here  we  have  a  contrast  in 
the  actual  condition  of  the  man  who,  though  poor,  has  enough  to  live 
upon,  and  the  man  who  is  proud,  and  vain  of  himself  and  his  posi- 
tion, and  yet  has  no  "bread. 

(i)  "He  that  is  despised  and  hath  a  servant."  The  language  is 
obscure ;  but  it  may  mean  a  man  who  is  so  poor  as  to  have  but  one 
servant ;  or  it  may  mean  a  man  who  makes  a  servant  of  his  humility, 
who  is  not  ashamed  of  his  poverty,  but  accepts  it  humbly,  and  by 
his  labor  secures  enough  to  support  himself  with,  is  better  off  in  this 
world  than  the  man  who  is  proud  of  a  great  name  or  some  empty 
title  and  yet  is  so  poor  as  not  to  have  bread. 

(ii)  "He  that  honoreth  himself  and  lacketh  bread."  "Pride  and 
poverty  do  not  go  well  together."  This  may  be  the  man  who  is  poor 
and  yet  too  proud  to  work ;  or  the  man  who  feels  that  his  title  or 
family  name  would  be  put  to  shame  if  he  should  turn  his  pride  into 
a  humble  servant  and  make  it  work  for  him.  There  is  many  a  con- 
tented and  happy  working-man  who  is  infinitely  better  off  than  hun- 
dreds of  penniless  noblemen  whose  only  possession  is  the  name  and 
title  of  some  dead  ancestor. 

10.  The  merciful  and  the  cruel  man  contrasted,  (v.  10.) — 
One  of  the  truest  tests  of  character  is  in  the  disposition  of  men  to- 
ward dumb  animals. 

(i)  "A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast."  A  man 
who  has  the  Spirit  of  God  in  him  is  in  true  sympathy  with  the  whole 
creation.  He  even  tries  to  put  himself  in  the  place  of  his  beast,  and 
extends  the  operations  of  the  golden  rule  to  it  as  well  as  to  his  fel- 
low-man. He  tries  to  know  even  the  feelings  of  a  brute  beast,  and 
so  comes  to  regard  them.  He  knows  that  the  tender  mercies  of  God 
are  over  all  his  works  (Jonah  iv,  11),  and  he  remembers  that  God  has 
commanded  kindness  to  animals.  (Ex.  xx,  10;  xxiii,  4,  5.)  Here 
in  India  the  Hindoo  would  regard  it  as  the  greatest  of  sins  to  take 
the  life  of  any  living  creature ;  but  there  is  no  country  in  the  world 
where  animals  (especially  domestic  animals)  are  so  cruelly  treated. 

(ii)  "The  tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel."  The  feel- 
ings and  emotions  of  the  wicked  narrow  toward  the  dumb  creation, 
whereas  the  feelings  of  kindness  in  the  righteous  man  widen  toward 
them,  and  are  all  the  more  pitiful  because  of  their  helplessness  to 
express  their  trouble  or  pain. 

11.  Industry  and  Idleness  contrasted,  (v.  11.)— In  this  verse 
we  have  a  further  proverb  bearing  on  humility  and  pride. 


166  FRUITS  OF   WISDOM. 

(i)  ''He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  be  satisfied  with  bread."  This 
is  an  invariable  law.  Honest  industry  may  not  always  lead  to 
wealth,  but  will  certainly  guarantee  the  necessities  of  life.  It  is 
even  said  that  he  ''shall  have  plenty  of  bread."  (xxviii,  19.)  It  is 
safe  to  depend  on  this  rule.  If  more  people  would  keep  to  the  tilling 
of  the  land  there  would  be  less  poverty  in  the  great  cities. 

(ii)  "He  that  followeth  vain  persons  is  void  of  understanding." 
Men  who  are  ambitious  to  ape  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  idle 
rich,  and  esteem  honest  toil  or  work  degrading,  show  themselves  to 
be  fools.  In  chapter  twenty-eight,  nineteenth  verse,  it  is  said  that 
such  a  one  "shall  have  poverty  enough."  But  here  the  thought  is 
deeper.  Idleness  or  vagrancy,  in  the  high  or  low,  is  folly  of  the  worst 
sort,  and  leads  to  things  infinitely  worse  than  poverty. 

12.  The  desire  of  the  wicked  and  the  fruit  of  the  righteous. 
(v.  12.) — The  thought  is  as  to  the  end  of  the  two  courses  of  life. 

(i)  "The  wicked  desireth  the  net  of  evil  men."  This  is  some- 
what obscure,  but  may  mean  that  wicked  men  are  so  infatuated  with 
the  way  of  other  wicked  men  that  they  run  into  their  practices, 
though  they  are  certain  to  snare  them  in  their  own  wickedness,  and 
bring  upon  them  the  judgment  of  God.  Or  it  may  mean  that  in  time 
of  trouble  they  turn  to  wicked  men  for  protection,  but  find  only  a 
net  which  ensnares  them. 

(ii)  "The  root  of  the  righteous  yieldeth  fruit."  (Ps.  i,  3.)  The 
man  whose  life  is  "rooted  and  grounded"  in  the  love  of  God  (Eph. 
iii,  17)  is  certain  to  yield  an  abundance  of  fruit,  the  chiefest  of 
which  is  "holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life."  (Rom.  vi,  22; 
Gal.  V,  22,  24.) 

13.  The  end  of  the  wicked  and  the  righteous  contrasted, 
(v.  13.) — In  this  passage  truth  is  contrasted  with  cunning  deceitful- 
ness. 

(i)  "  The  wicked  is  snared  by  the  transgression  of  his  lips." 
Many  a  man  has  told  one  lie  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  some  evil 
deed,  or  to  free  himself  from  the  effects  of  a  former  lie.  Nothing  is 
surer  to  bring  a  man  into  final  ruin  than  the  practice  of  lying.  "  The 
transgression"  of  one's  lips,  whether  it  be  in  lies  or  evil  or  hasty 
speaking,  is  an  almost  certain  snare  to  catch  a  man  in  sin.  "Many 
a  man  has  paid  dear  in  this  world  for  the  transgression  of  his  lips, 
and  has  felt  the  lash  on  his  back  for  the  want  of  a  bridle  on  his 
tongue."     (Ps.  Ixiv,  8.) 

(ii)  "  The  just  shall  come  out  of  trouble."  The  man  who  sticks  to 
the  truth  and  "  bridles  his  tongue  "  may  get  into  trouble,  but  in  the 
end  it  will  be  seen  that  God  comes  to  his  rescue  and  will  deliver  him. 


FRUITS   OF   WISDOM.  167 

14.  Good  words  and  good  deeds,  (v.  14.) — Words  as  well  as 
deeds  bear  their  fruits  and  lead  up  to  results. 

(i)  "A  man  shall  be  satisfied  with  good  by  the  fruit  of  his 
mouth."  This  may  refer  not  only  to  kind  and  truthful  words,  which 
always  bring  satisfaction  to  the  soul  of  the  speaker,  but  it  may  have 
reference  to  teaching  the  truth  of  God  to  others.  In  such  a  case, 
^'He  that  watereth"  others  with  the  word  of  God  "shall  be  watered 
also  himself." 

(ii)  ''And  the  recompense  of  a  man's  hands  shall  be  rendered 
unto  him."  This  is  not  a  contrast  of  evil  deeds  with  good  words, 
but  a  continuation  of  the  statement  that  whatsoever  is  done,  either 
by  word  or  deed,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  for  the  good  of  one's 
fellow-man  shall  come  back  in  sweet  recompense  to  the  doer.  God 
is  not  forgetful  of  the  least  good  deed  done  in  his  name  and  for  his 
sake,  even  though  it  be  but  the  giving  of  a  cup  of  water  to  a  thirsty 
man. 

15.  The  way  of  the  fool  and  the  counsel  of  the  wise.  (v. 
15.) — Foolish  conceit  and  good  advice  are  here  contrasted. 

(i)  "  The  way  of  a  fool  is  right  in  his  own  eyes."  A  fool  will  not 
seek  advice,  but  is  wise  in  his  own  eyes  (iii,  7),  and  in  his  conceit 
thinks  he  knows  better  the  way  than  any  can  tell  him,  and  so  he  fol- 
lows on  to  his  own  destruction,  like  a  proud  and  headstrong  man. 

(ii)  "He  that  hearkeneth  unto  counsel  is  wise."  No  man  is  so 
perfectly  furnished  with  understanding  that  he  can  altogether  dis- 
pense with  the  advice  of  others.  Conceit  keeps  the  fool  from  be- 
coming wise,  and  the  habit  of  hearkening  unto  good  counsel  keeps 
the  wise  man  from  becoming  a  fool.  "Be  not  wise  in  your  own  con- 
ceits "  is  a  bit  of  advice  which  he  has  followed,  and  which  shows  him 
to  be  a  wise  man,  and  is  also  a  certain  guaranty  that  he  will  continue 
one.  The  true  source  of  wise  counsel  is  in  God  himself,  who  has 
told  us  :  "  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth 
to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not."     (James  i,  5.) 


XXI. 

AGAINST    INTEMPERANCE.— Proverbs  xxiii,   29-35. 

(29)  Who  hath  woe?  who  hath  sorrow?  who  hath  contentions?  who  hath 
babbling?  who  hath  wounds  without  cause?  who  hath  redness  of  eyes?  (30) 
They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine ;  they  that  go  to  seek  mixed  wine.  (31) 
Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  his  colour  in 
the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright.  (32)  At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  ser- 
pent, and  stingeth  like  an  adder.  (33)  Thine  eyes  shall  behold  strange 
women,  and  thine  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things.  (34)  Yea,  thou  shalt  be 
as  he  that  lieth  down  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  or  as  he  that  lieth  upon  the 
top  of  a  mast.  (35)  They  have  stricken  me,  shalt  thou  say,  and  I  was  not 
sick;  they  have  beaten  me,  and  I  felt  it  not:  when  shall  I  awake?  I  will 
seek  it  yet  again. —Pro verbs  xxiii,  29-35. 

The  temperance  lesson  in  this  course  of  Bible  study  is  one  of  fre- 
quent recurrence ;  yet  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  is  too  frequently  in- 
sisted on,  for  intemperance  is  one  of  the  worst  evils  of  our  times,  as 
it  has  been  of  all  times;  leading  not  only  to  the  destruction  of  the 
individual,  but  to  the  corruption  of  the  community  and  the  over- 
throw of  nations.  It  is  one  of  those  sins  which,  more  than  others, 
cannot  be  indulged  in  without  bringing  evil  upon  others.  Those 
who  stand  nearest  to  the  drunkard  suffer  the  most,  but  the  sphere 
of  the  drunkard's  evil  influence  is  an  ever-widening  one,  and  he 
affects  the  entire  community  in  which  he  lives.  There  is  no  evil  in 
this  life  to  which  it  does  not  lead  up,  and  the  end  of  it  is  eternal 
death,  for  no  drunkard  "  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  (I.  Cor.  ' 
vi,  10.)  It  is  not  only  a  physical  evil,  destroying  the  body,  but  it  is 
a  mental  and  moral  evil,  corrupting  the  mind  and  destroying  the  soul. 
The  drunkenness  is  classed  with  the  stealing,  the  covetousness,  the 
reviling  and  extortion,  and  the  adultery.  It  is  said  to  have  its  seat 
in  the  heart  and  not  only  in  the  physical  natui'e  of  man.  (Matt,  xv, 
19;  Mark  \di,  21 ;  Gal.  v,  19-22.)  One  only  has  to  look  at  the  sins 
associated  with  drunkenness  to  see  what  frightful  company  it  is  in, 
and  to  consider  the  end  of  these  dreadful  sins  to  see  what  the  end  of 
the  drunkard  will  be.  It  is  a  singular  thing  that  the  devil  has  so 
deceived  the  world  on  this  point  that  drunkenness  is  treated  as  a 
misfortune  rather  than  a  sin,  and  the  drunkard  is  regarded  rather  as 
a  weak  man  than  a  bad  man.  A  thief,  an  extortioner,  or  a  murderer 
is  regarded  as  a  criminal,  but  the  drunkard  is  looked  upon  simply 


AGAINST   INTEMPERANCE.  169 

as  a  man  of  unfortunately  weak  habit  of  mind,  who  cannot  avoid 
getting  into  an  excess  of  appetite.  A  man  convicted  of  theft  is  for- 
ever a  disgraced  man  in  the  eyes  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives, 
whereas  a  drunkard  is  forgiven  his  drunkenness  whenever  he  chances 
to  be  sober.  Yet  God  classes  the  thief  and  the  drunkard,  the  liar, 
the  adulterer,  and  the  murderer  together,  amongst  the  sinners  who 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Hosea  draws  a  graphic 
picture  of  the  misery  to  which  Israel  had  been  reduced  by  sin  and 
transgression,  and  for  which,  finally,  she  as  a  nation  suffered  the 
judgment  of  God  and  was  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
Almighty  God.  (Is.  li,  17,  22.)  "By  swearing,  and  lying,  and  kill- 
ing, and  stealing,  and  committing  adultery,"  the  land  was  filled  with 
violence  and  sin.  (Hos.  iv,  2.)  All  of  these  sins  are  in  other  places 
in  the  Bible  ascribed  to  the  habit  of  strong  drink.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  none  of  these  sins  are  committed  except  by  drunkards,  but  that 
all  these  sins  are  induced  and  led  up  by  that  fearful  habit. 

Drunkenness  is  one  of  the  oldest  sins  spoken  of  in  the  Bible.  It 
must  have  been  the  common  sin  of  that  fearful  age  of  violence  and 
lawlessness  before  the  Flood,  and  have  so  spread  among  all  classes 
that  even  so  good  a  man  as  Noah  was  overtaken  by  it.  (Gen.  ix, 
21.)  "We  know  also  that  Lot,  the  one  righteous  man  that  dwelt  in 
Sodom,  was  not  without  fault  in  this  matter ;  for  if  he  had  not  been 
in  the  habit  of  drinking,  and  that  to  excess,  it  is  certain  that  his 
wicked  daughters  could  not  have  plied  him  with  drink  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  lead  him  into  the  awful  sin  of  incest.  (Gen.  xix,  32.) 
It  is  supposed  that  the  sin  of  Nadab  and  Abihu,  for  which  they  were 
stricken  dead  before  the  tabernacle,  was  the  result  of  drunkenness ; 
for  immediately  afterward  the  ordinance  was  enacted  forbidding  a 
priest  to  drink  wine  and  strong  drink  when  ministering  about  the 
house  of  God.  (Lev.  x,  1,  9.)  It  had  become  a  common  practice 
even  among  the  priests  in  the  days  of  Eli,  so  that  he  was  not  sur- 
prised to  see  Hannah  in  the  tabernacle,  as  he  supposed,  drunk.  (I. 
Sam.  i,  13.)  And  certainly  it  had  gone  so  far  that  the  sons  of  Sam- 
uel were  but  sons  of  Belial,  even  in  their  drunkenness  and  debauch- 
ery going  so  far  as  to  bring  lewd  women  into  the  very  courts  of  the 
tabernacle  to  commit  sin  with  them.  But  to  follow  the  subject  in 
its  general  history  would  be  to  cite  passages  from  the  history  of 
Israel  out  of  every  book  in  the  Bible.  So  common  and  notorious  was 
the  sin  of  drunkenness  that  in  the  days  of  Joel  he  addressed  the 
whole  nation  as  a  nation  of  drunkards  and  drinkers  of  wine.  (Joel 
1,  5. )  That  it  was  a  prevalent  sin  in  the  days  of  our  Lord  and  the 
apostles  is  abundantly  testified  by  the  many  exhortations  and  warn- 


170  AGAINST   INTEMPERANCE. 

ings  against  it.  "  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your 
hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and  drunkenness,  .  .  .  and  so 
that  day  come  upon  you  unawares."  (Luke  xxi,  34.)  ^'Let  us  walk 
honestly,  as  in  the  day;  and  not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness." 
(Rom.  xiii,  13.)  ''Excess  of  wine"  was  one  of  the  marks  of  an  un- 
converted state,  and  is  spoken  against  as  inconsistent  with  the 
Christian  life,  just  as  lasciviousness,  lust,  and  abominable  idolatries 
are.  (I.  Pet.  iv,  3. )  But  we  need  not  follow  these  general  teach- 
ings further.  He  who  runs  may  read  the  language  of  God's  Word  on 
this  subject.  To  see  how  true  those  considerations  are,  one  only 
has  to  look  around  him  in  every  walk  and  condition  of  life.  Not 
until  the  Church  and  even  the  world  wake  up  to  the  fact  that 
drunkenness  is  a  sin  against  God  and  a  crime  against  society,  and 
begin  to  deal  with  it  and  treat  the  drunkard  as  they  treat  the  thief, 
the  robber,  the  libertine,  and  the  murderer,  may  we  hope  to  check, 
not  to  say  subdue,  this  terrible  evil,  which  is  a  growing  one,  espe- 
cially under  the  fostering  care  of  governments  and  municipalities 
who  are  accessories  to  the  evil  by  a  league  with  the  liquor-sellers  for 
the  sake  of  revenue. 

It  is  a  fact  which  must  be  acknowledged,  that  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible  is  not  that  of  total  abstinence  from  the  use  of  wine,  but  from 
the  too  great  use  of  it,  even  to  the  point  of  drunkenness.  In  the 
discussion  of  this  subject  nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  trying  to  force 
teachings  out  of  the  Bible  which  are  not  in  it.  The  priest,  during 
the  period  of  his  service,  and  the  Nazarite,  while  his  vow  was  upon 
him,  were  absolutely  forbidden  the  use  of  wine  or  strong  drink ;  but 
there  was  no  such  prohibition  laid  upon  the  people  at  large.  The 
charge  is  against  drunkenness  and  not  against  the  legitimate  use  of 
wine,  just  as  the  charge  is  against  gluttony  (v.  20)  and  not  against 
the  use  of  food.  Whether  or  not  it  is  wise  and  expedient  for  Chris- 
tian men  and  women  to  become  total  abstainers  as  a  matter  of  lib- 
erty and  expediency  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the  horrible  evil  of 
drunkenness  is  another  question,  and  will -be  discussed  in  a  study 
later  on  in  this  series.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  all  men 
who  indulge  in  wine-drinking  are  in  the  first  instance  exposed  to  the 
danger  of  the  sin  of  drunkenness.  Every  man  must  urge  for  himself 
whether  his  strength  is  sufficient  to  drink  temperately  of  the  wine, 
without  the  danger  of  awakening  an  appetite  for  it  which  will  lead 
to  drunkenness.  And  so  every  one  must  judge  for  himself  whether 
in  all  circumstances  it  is  his  duty  for  the  sake  of  others  totally  to 
abstain  from  the  use  of  all  wine  and  strong  drink. 


A   QUESTION   AND   AN   ANSWER.  171 


I.— A   aUESTION  AND   AN  ANSWER. 

The  question  raised  in  the  passage  of  Scripture  which  we  have 
immediately  under  discussion  is  a  further  commentary  on  the  ex- 
hortation of  Solomon  found  in  the  twentieth  verse  of  this  chapter : 
''Be  not  among  wine-bibbers;  among  riotous  eaters  of  flesh."  His 
purpose  is  to  dissuade  from  the  excessive  use  of  strong  drink,  and  to 
this  end  he  draws  a  vivid  picture  of  the  general  consequences  of  the 
habit.  The  questions  which  he  puts  are  sarcastic  as  well  as  affirma- 
tive.    The  picture  which  he  draws  is  true  to  life. 

1.  "  Who  hath  woe  ?  " — The  woe  here  spoken  of  is  descriptive 
of  direful  distress,  in  which  is  implied  both  the  condemnation  of 
God  for  a  sin  committed  and  a  certain  awful  condition  of  suffering. 
"  Woe  unto  them  that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning,  that  they  may  fol- 
low strong  drink ;  that  continue  until  night,  till  wine  inflame  them  !  " 
"  Woe  unto  them  that  are  mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men  of  strength 
to  mingle  strong  drink."  (Is.  v,  11,  22.)  There  is  a  threat  con- 
tained in  these  two  "  woes '"  pronounced  by  the  prophet,  and  there 
is  a  subtle  touch  of  meaning  in  the  word  "inflame."  Until  wine  in- 
flame them,  that  is,  until  wine  "pursue  them."  Drunkenness  which 
is  first  indulged  in  as  a  pleasure  becomes  a  master,  and  a  pursuing 
avenger.  Sin  of  all  kinds  brings  its  own  punishment,  but  there  is 
no  sin  which  so  speedily  and  relentlessly  pursues  its  victim  as  the 
sin  of  drunkenness. 

2.  "Who  hath  sorrow?" — Everybody  has  more  or  less  sor- 
row, but  all  sorrows  are  not  the  sorrows  of  sin :  some  are  those  of 
affliction  from  the  good  hand  of  God  for  our  nurture,  such  as  Job 
suffered ;  and  some  are  they  which  come  on  account  of  the  sins  of 
others,  as  the  sorrow  of  a  father  over  a  prodigal  son ;  and  some  are 
the  sorrows  that  come  in  the  course  of  nature,  as  the  sorrow  that 
comes  because  of  the  death  of  those  whom  we  love.  These  are  the 
sorrows  which  cannot  be  hindered  or  helped ;  but  the  drunkard  has 
sorrow  of  his  own  making :  he  deliberately  brings  it  upon  himself. 
There  is  in  the  early  stages  of  the  drunkard's  career  an  agony  of 
sorrow  and  remorse  which  is  sometimes  very  distressing  and  bitter 
to  behold,  and  much  more  to  bear ;  this  sorrow  wears  away  after  the 
drunkard  has  become  sottish.  I  have  seen  a  drunkard,  long  after 
he  has  ceased  to  care  for  the  evils  which  he  has  brought  on  himself, 
bitterly  lament  and  curse  his  folly  because  of  the  sorrow  he  had 
brought  upon  his  wife,  children,  and  friends.  The  drunkard  sows  a 
crop  of  sorrow  that  springs  up  all  around  him  ;  all  the  more  so  be- 


172  AGAINST   INTEMPERANCE. 

cause  it  is  most  apt  to  be  perpetual  so  long  as  he  lives,  for  drunken- 
ness, once  it  gets  a  man  in  its  grip,  seldom  relaxes  that  grip  until  it 
has  laid  the  drunkard's  body  in  the  grave  and  sent  his  soul  to  hell. 

3.  "Who  hath  contentions?" — It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
drunkenness  more  than  any  other  habit  or  vice  leads  to  strife  and 
contentions.  Nine  tenths  of  all  the  brawls  and  fights,  quarrels  and 
misunderstandings  in  the  world  are  traceable  directly  to  this  vice. 
It  filled  the  world  with  violence  before  the  Flood,  and  it  has  filled 
the  world  with  strife  ever  since.  There  is  that  in  strong  drink  which 
not  only  inflames  the  passions,  but  clouds  the  understanding  and  so 
weakens  the  will  that  small  offenses  which  would  otherwise  be  passed 
by  are  magnified  into  grievous  wrongs,  which  call  for  resentment ; 
nay,  it  causes  men  to  take  offense  where  none  is  intended,  and  leads 
to  quarrels  without  a  cause.  If  we  could  dismiss  drunkenness  from 
the  land,  we  might  be  sure  that  nine  tenths  of  the  family  quarrels, 
legal  quarrels,  and  violent  conflicts  that  lead  to  assault  and  murder 
would  cease  out  of  the  land. 

4.  "  Who  hath  babbling  ?  " — Drunkenness  so  beclouds  the  in- 
tellect that  a  man  under  the  power  of  strong  drink  loses  control  both 
of  his  senses  and  of  his  tongue.  The  consequence  is  that  a  drunk- 
ard is  a  "  babbler  "  of  foolish  things,  makes  himself  a  laughing-stock 
to  the  bystanders ;  it  induces  small  quarrelings  about  nothing,  and 
leads  to  coarse,  vulgar,  and  profane  speech.  It  opens  the  floodgates 
of  the  heart  (which  is  full  of  evil  and  foolish  thoughts),  and  they 
rush  out  of  the  drunkard's  lips  like  a  brood  of  silly  and  \dcious  de- 
mons, to  spread  folly  and  misery  around.  Who  has  not  seen  with 
both  pity  and  contempt  the  drunkard  with  thickened  tongue  and 
senseless  thought  babbling  forth  his  folly,  until  for  very  shame  of 
humankind  he  has  turned  away  with  more  disgust  than  pity.  The 
drunkard  usually  knows  he  is  making  a  fool  of  himself,  and  yet  has 
not  the  power  to  check  his  speech. 

5.  "Who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ?  "—A  bruised  body 
and  a  battered  face  is  the  usual  accompaniment  of  a  drunkard's  de- 
bauch. There  are  wounds  which  a  man  may  carry  with  honor  to 
himself  and  pride  to  his  neighbors  and  friends  :  such  as  he  may  have 
received  in  defense  of  his  country,  or  in  the  protection  of  the  inno- 
cent, or  the  vindication  of  that  which  is  right ;  but  the  wounds  and 
bruises  of  the  drunkard  are  without  a  justifying  cause.  They  are 
the  badges  of  his  shame,  the  proofs  of  his  sin. 

6.  "Who  hath  redness  of  eyes?"— The  wounds  which  a 
drunkard  receives  are  not  all  given  by  the  hands  of  others.  Drunk- 
enness itself  inflicts  wounds  on  the  body  of  the  drunkard.     It  poisons 


A   QUESTION  AND   AN  ANSWER.  173 

the  blood,  disorders  the  vital  fluids  of  the  body,  corrupts  the  func- 
tions, and  finally  brings  about  a  watery,  blear-eyed  deformity  which 
at  once  disfigures  the  face  and  makes  the  whole  countenance  con- 
temptible and  revolting,  and  at  the  same  time  stamps  the  brand  of 
the  drunkard's  sin  upon  him.  We  sometimes  see  a  blind  man  going 
about  with  a  placard  around  his  neck  proclaiming  his  affliction,  "  I 
am  blind " ;  but  the  drunkard  needs  no  placard.  His  eyes  and  his 
face  tell  their  own  story  and  make  this  proclamation  to  all  the 
world :  "  I  am  a  drunkard ;  a  man  given  up  to  a  deadly  sin ;  one  who 
has  woe  self-imposed ;  who  has  ruined  his  family,  brought  his  chil- 
dren to  poverty  and  shame,  broken  his  wife's  heart,  forfeited  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  all  good  men,  and  is  on  the  broad  road  to  hell." 
Thus  does  the  drunkard  advertise  himself.  The  very  devils  must 
laugh  at  the  wi-etched  spectacle  which  a  drunkard  makes  of  himself. 
The  answer  to  this  series  of  pertinent  and  sarcastic  questions  is 
found  in  the  thirtieth  verse. 

1.  "Tliey  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine." — Wine,  if  used  at 
all,  should  only  be  taken  as  a  relish  and  in  small  quantities,  and 
never  to  the  extent  of  firing  the  brain  or  inflaming  the  blood.  The 
drunkard  is  the  man  who  tarries  long  over  his  cups,  spending  hours, 
and  whole  days  and  nights  sometimes,  drinking  from  place  to  place. 
Oh,  the  wasted  time,  the  misspent  hours,  which  the  habit  of  drink- 
ing induces  !  If  all  the  time  spent  over  wdne  and  strong  drink  were 
spent  in  useful  labor  or  refreshing  sleep,  which  fits  for  business  and 
work,  there  would  be  little  poverty  in  the  world  and  comparatively 
small  suffering ;  for  with  the  spending  of  time  over  wine  goes  the 
spending  of  money  and  the  waste  of  energy  and  strength,  and 
even  the  disposition  to  industry  and  labor.  "  Woe  unto  them  that 
rise  up  early  in  the  morning,  that  they  may  follow  strong  drink ;  that 
continue  until  night,  till  wine  inflame  them."  This  is  the  drunkard, 
who  begins  the  day  (and  even  takes  pains  to  begin  it  early)  with 
drink,  and  follows  after  it  all  day  and  into  the  night,  and  then  is  fol- 
lowed by  drink  the  rest  of  his  life  until  he  is  chased  through  the 
grave  into  the  drunkard's  hell. 

2.  "  They  that  go  to  seek  mixed  wine." — There  was  in  use 
a  plain  simple  wine  that  hardly  intoxicated,  and  then  there  was  a 
mixture  of  wines  with  other  ingredients  which  was  stronger  and 
more  intoxicating.  The  drunkard's  taste  becomes  dulled  by  drink 
and  the  desire  for  something  stronger,  and  so  he  rises  up  and  goes 
in  search  of  all  kinds  of  strongest  drink,  that  he  may  add  fuel  to  the 
fire  he  has  already  kindled  in  his  blood.  These  mixed  wines  were 
probably  the  strong  drink  of  the  Scriptures. 


174  AGAINST   INTEMPERANCE, 


II.— DISSUASION   AND   WARNING. 

The  wise  king  now  speaks  a  word  of  earnest  advice  to  avoid 
temptation,  and  a  solemn  warning  as  to  the  final  consequences  of 
drunkenness. 

1.  "Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it 
giveth  his  color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright." — 
This  is  probably  a  mark  of  distinction  between  the  harmless  wines 
of  the  country,  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape,  and  those  highly  com- 
bined and  deeply  fermented  wines  which  were  manufactured  with 
special  reference  to  delighting  the  taste  of  the  wine-bibber.  Strong 
wines  were  red  and  fiery  in  appearance,  perhaps  by  reason  of 
high  fermentation,  or  by  reason  of  certain  juices  and  herbs  which 
were  used  in  combination  with  the  juice  of  the  grape  to  add  to  its 
strength.  The  giving  of  its  color  in  the  cup  probably  refers  to 
the  sparkling  bubbling  of  the  strong  wines,  the  sparkle  of  the  fer- 
mentation, which  causes  quick  intoxication.  The  expression  ''mov- 
eth itself  aright"  may  refer  either  to  those  movements  of  the  fer- 
mented cup  which  satisfies  the  strong  drinker  that  the  wine  is  of 
strong  and  rich  quality,  or  to  the  delight  with  which  the  drunkard 
allows  the  wine  to  flow  sweetly  and  deliciously  from  the  cup  down 
his  throat,  like  ''the  best  wine  .  .  .  that  goeth  down  sweetly,  causing 
the  lips  of  those  that  are  asleep  to  speak."  (Song  of  Solomon  vii,  9.) 
Whenever  wine  becomes  such  a  delight  as  this  to  the  drinker,  it  is  a 
sure  sign  that  he  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  the  habit  of  drunkenness. 

2.  "At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like 
an  adder." — "Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging :  and  who- 
soever is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise."  (Prov.  xx,  1.)  The  wine- 
cup  promises  pleasure,  but  it  is  a  deceiving  mocker.  That  is,  it  first 
deceives  and  then  mocks  its  victims.  It  allures  with  the  promise  of 
pleasure,  and  then  laughs  when  the  calamity  comes.  It  is  a  poison 
like  that  of  the  serpent  and  the  adder.  The  frightful  antithesis  to 
the  habit  of  drinking  strong  and  mixed  drinks  until  drunkenness  be- 
comes the  habit  and  state  of  a  man's  soul  and  body  is  seen  in  the 
terrible  words  of  the  Psalmist :  "  For  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  there 
is  a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red ;  it  is  full  of  mixture ;  and  he  poureth 
out  the  same  ;  for  the  dregs  thereof  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  shall 
wring  them  out  and  drink  them."  (Ps.  Ixxv,  8.)  The  harvest  of 
the  drunkard  is  sown  in  red  and  mixed  wine,  and  is  reaped  in  ■v^^'ath, 
the  last  bitter  dregs  of  which  he  must  wring  out  of  the  cup  and 
drink,  as  he  washed  out  the  dregs  of  the  wine-cup  and  drank  them 
that  he  might  lose  nothing  of  the  sweet  poison  contained  therein. 


TEMPORAL   CONSEQUENCES   OF   DRUNKENNESS.     175 


III.— MORAL  EFFECTS   OF   DRUNKENNESS. 

Drunkenness  does  not  travel  in  single  harness.  It  yokes  itself  up 
with  other  sins. 

1.  "Thine  eyes  shall  behold  strange  women." — Wine  fires 
the  blood  and  inflames  the  passions  of  a  man,  and  leads  him  to  look 
lustfully  after  the  strange  women  "whose  ways  lead  to  hell."  In  a 
drunken  or  half -drunken  state  the  moral  sense  is  so  blunted  that  the 
drunkard  will  give  way  to  the  lower  lusts  of  his  natm*e,  which  would 
shock  him  to  think  of  if  he  were  sober. 

2.  "  Thine  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things." — In  drunken- 
ness perverse  and  wicked  things  out  of  the  heart  are  framed  into 
words  which  bind  men  to  sin  or  involve  them  in  most  dreadful  con- 
sequences. Many  a  drunken  promise  or  speech  has  led  to  entangle- 
ments which  a  whole  lifetime  has  not  been  long  enough  to  unravel 
or  disentangle. 

IV.— TEMPORAL  CONSEaUENCES  OF  DRUNKEN- 
NESS. 

The  drunken  man  is  a  man  devoid  of  good  judgment,  and  is  con- 
stantly running  into  senseless  dangers  both  physically  and  socially. 

1.  "  Thou  shalt  be  as  he  that  lieth  down  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea." — To  make  one's  bed  on  the  waves  of  the  sea,  or  in  the 
trough  of  the  sea,  would  be  to  be  swallowed  up  in  death.  So  is  the 
drunken  man.  Or  he  is  as  a  pilot  who  has  gone  to  sleep  when  his 
ship  is  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  allowing  the  tiller  to  slip  out  of  his 
hand  and  his  ship  to  be  swamped  with  the  waves  which  he  might 
else  have  outridden. 

2.  "Or  as  he  that  lieth  upon  the  top  of  a  mast." — The  mast 
of  a  ship  (especially  in  a  storm)  is  a  place  of  danger  where  the  sailor 
needs  all  the  alertness  of  a  steady  head  to  keep  his  footing.  What 
folly  for  one  to  allow  himself  to  fall  asleep  in  such  a  place  !  Yet  so 
will  the  drunkard  fall  asleep  anywhere,  on  a  railway  track,  in  a 
burning  house,  or  out  in  a  winter's  blast  where  death  by  freezing 
will  overtake  him.     A  drunkard  loses  all  sense  of  danger. 

3.  Insensibility  to  all  shame,  and  pain,  and  danger. — "  They 
have  stricken  me  .  .  .  and  I  was  not  sick,  they  have  beaten  me  and  I 
felt  it  not."  He  is  imprisoned  or  whipped  as  a  common  vagrant,  but 
is  insensible  to  it.  It  makes  no  difference  to  him.  He  is  neither 
ashamed  nor  corrected  by  punishment  or  suffering. 


176  AGAINST   INTEMPERANCE. 

"  Though  thou  shouldest  bray  a  fool  in  a  mortar  among  wheat 
with  a  pestle,  yet  will  not  his  foolishness  depart  from  him."  (xxvii, 
22.)     So  it  is  with  a  drunkard  under  suffering  and  punishment. 

4.  "  "When  shall  I  awake  ?  I  will  seek  it  yet  again." — Every 
other  thought  is  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  the  absorbing  thirst  for 
drink.  Out  of  prison  or  drunken  sleep  or  perilous  danger  he  will 
(without  thought  of  the  perils  which  he  has  escaped  or  the  suffer- 
ings and  punishments  which  he  has  endured)  rush  straight  for  the 
dram-shop  again,  and  go  still  deeper  into  his  degradation.  Drunken- 
ness, being  first  pursued,  becomes  the  relentless  pursuer,  and  there 
is  no  escape  except  by  the  almighty  grace  of  God. 


xxir. 

THE   EXCELLENT   WOMAN.— Proverbs  xxxl,    10-31. 

(10)  Who  can  find  a  virtuous  woman?  for  her  price  is  far  above  rubies. 
(11)  The  heart  of  her  husband  doth  safely  trust  in  her,  so  that  he  shall  have 
no  need  of  spoil.  (12)  She  will  do  him  good  and  not  evil  all  the  days  of  her 
life.   (13)  She  seeketh  wool,  and  flax,  and  worketh  willingly  with  her  hands. 

(14)  She  is  like  the  merchants'  ships;  she  bringeth  her  food  from  afar. 

(15)  She  riseth  also  while  it  is  yet  night,  and  giveth  meat  to  her  household, 
and  a  portion  to  her  maidens.  (16)  She  considereth  a  field,  and  buyeth  it: 
with  the  fruit  of  her  hands  she  planteth  a  vineyard.  (17)  She  girdeth  her 
loins  with  strength,  and  strengtheneth  her  arms.  (18)  She  perceiveth  that 
her  merchandise  is  good :  her  candle  goeth  not  out  by  night.  (19)  She  lay- 
eth  her  hands  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold  the  distaff.  (20)  She 
stretcheth  out  her  hand  to  the  poor;  yea,  she  reacheth  forth  her  hands  to 
the  needy.  (21)  She  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  her  household:  for  all  her 
household  are  clothed  with  scarlet.  (22)  She  maketh  herself  coverings  of 
tapestry;  her  clothing  is  silk  and  purple.  (23)  Her  husband  is  known  in 
the  gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the  land.  (24)  She  maketh 
fine  linen,  and  selleth  it;  and  delivereth  girdles  unto  the  merchant. 
(25)  Strength  and  honour  are  her  clothing;  and  she  shall  rejoice  in  time  to 
come.  (26)  She  openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom ;  and  in  her  tongue  is  the 
law  of  kindness.  (27)  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and 
eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness.  (28)  Her  children  arise  up,  and  call  her 
blessed ;  her  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her.  (29)  Many  daughters  have 
done  virtuously,  but  thou  excellest  them  all.  (30)  Favour  is  deceitful,  and 
beauty  is  vain :  but  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she  shall  be  praised. 
(31)  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands ;  and  let  her  own  works  praise  her  in 
the  gates.— Proverbs  xxxi,  10-31. 

Our  present  study  consists  of  the  latter  half  of  the  teaching  of 
King  Lemuel  that  "his  mother  taught  him,"  (v.  1.)  Who  King 
Lemuel  was  we  have  no  means  of  knowing ;  but  the  teaching  of  his 
mother  in  respect  of  the  "  excellent  woman  "  certainly  entitles  her 
words  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and  bound  upon  the  wrists 
and  about  the  forehead  of  every  young  woman  who  aspires  to  the 
high  dignity  of  being  wife  to  a  good  man  and  mistress  of  a  right 
household.  Nor  could  a  young  man  who  desires  a  wife  do  better 
than  to  study  this  description  of  the  virtuous  woman,  and  have  it  in 
his  mind  while  seeking  for  a  life  partner  for  himself.  Both  Paul  and 
Peter  have  briefly  described  the  general  characteristics  of  what  a 
godly  wife  ouglit  to  be  (I.  Tim.  ii,  9,  10 ;  I.  Pet.  iii,  1-6),  but  I  think 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Old  Testament  picture  is  the  more  per- 


178  THE   EXCELLENT   WOMAN. 

feet  bit  of  portraiture.  More  than  half  the  misery  in  this  world 
comes  from  ill-assorted  marriages,  and  these  come  about  because 
young  men  in  choosing  wives  look  not  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
pretty  face,  or  some  attraction  of  the  person,  or  to  the  social  posi- 
tion or  wealth  of  the  women  whom  they  choose  for  wives.  Strength 
of  character  and  home  training  are  not  inquired  into.  When  a 
man  wakes  up  to  find  that  instead  of  a  helpmeet  for  him  he  has  sim- 
ply gotten  a  silly,  vain,  and  extravagant  woman  for  a  wife,  the  love 
that  came  in  at  the  front  door  is  apt  to  go  out  at  the  back  door.  If 
he  should  get  a  competent  woman  who  is  a  "  brawling  woman  "  or 
evil-tempered  woman,  it  is  just  as  bad.  There  ought  to  be  a  balance 
between  disposition  and  character,  and  the  old  rule  that  '^  beauty  is 
as  beauty  does  "  should  guide  men  in  the  selection  of  their  wives. 
K  yoimg  men  should  insist  upon  character  and  the  proper  training 
of  girls  under  the  guidance  of  excellent  mothers  as  a  condition  of 
proposal  for  marriage,  there  would  be  fewer  frivolous  women  and 
more  happy  homes. 

I.— THE   SEARCH  AFTER  A  VIRTUOUS  WOMAN. 

In  the  days  of  the  monarchy,  when  Israel  grew  rich  and  splendid 
under  the  reign  of  Solomon,  the  tendency  among  women  was  away 
from  domestic  virtues,  industry,  and  the  care  of  their  husbands' 
houses,  to  idleness,  fine  dressing,  mincing  manners,  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  mere  superficial  attractions  and  personal  charms.  Apparent- 
ly? good  women  were  scarce  in  the  days  of  King  Lemuel,  and  yet  they 
were  never  more  needed  than  in  his  day,  unless  it  be  in  our  own  day. 

1.  The  virtuous  woman. — The  term  virtue  does  not  apply  to 
chastity  here,  though  of  course  it  includes  it.  It  is  a  word  descrip- 
tive of  character,  energy,  ability,  and  general  capacity,  both  of  body 
and  mind.  Not  that  of  the  so-called  "strong-minded  woman,"  but 
the  able  and  energetic  woman,  whose  character  is  a  combination  of 
both  strength  and  meekness ;  the  ability  to  command  and  manage 
her  household  well,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  a  companion  and  a 
sweet  delight  to  her  husband,  as  well  as  a  fond  and  affectionate 
mother  to  her  children.  The  fact  that  she  is  described  in  such  lan- 
guage would  imply  that  the  virtuous  woman  is  essentially  a  re- 
ligious woman,  (xxxi,  30.)  The  opposite  description  of  a  woman 
of  strong  character  and  yet  not  of  virtuous  character  is  that  of 
Ezek.  xvi,  30,  where  she  is  called  "  an  imperious  whorish  woman  " 
— that  is,  a  headstrong  and  haughty  woman,  who  will  have  her 
own  way,  and  is  more  fond  of  the  outside  of  her  house  than  the 


THE   SEARCH  AFTER  A   VIRTUOUS   WOMAN.        179 

inside ;  who  cares  for  other  men  as  well  as,  if  not  better  than,  her 
husband. 

2.  The  value  of  such  a  woman. — If  things  are  intrinsically 
valuable,  as  gold  and  silver,  diamonds  and  rubies,  in  proportion  to 
their  scarcity,  then  we  have  one  reason  why  such  a  woman  as  is 
here  described  is  precious,  namely :  Such  women  are  very  rare. 
"Her  price  is  far  above  rubies."  But  then  it  is  not  scarcity  alone  that 
makes  such  women  valuable,  but  their  intrinsic  excellencies,  such 
as  dwell  in  rubies  and  pearls,  qualities  of  rare  fineness,  incompar- 
able beauty,  and  capable  of  greatly  adorning  the  possessor  of  them. 
"A  virtuous  woman  is  a  crown  to  her  husband."  (xii,  4.)  Rubies 
and  pearls  are  of  great  value  and  represent  wealth  to  the  owner,  but 
a  man  might  well  exchange  silver  and  gold  and  all  precious  stones 
for  a  virtuous  wife  (not  that  virtuous  wives  may  be  bought,  but 
that  they  are  of  more  worth  than  rubies).  A  poor  man  with  such  a 
wife  is  happier  than  a  prince,  for  a  prince  whose  wife  has  not  at 
least  some  of  the  excellencies  of  this  woman  is  worse  off  than  a  beg- 
gar, though  he  have  "all  rubies." 

3.  Virtuous  women  are  scarce,  and  must  be  searched  after. 
— "  Who  can  find  a  virtuous  woman  ?  "  asks  the  prophet,  as  though 
there  were  not  many  of  them  at  the  most,  and  these  hard  to  find. 
This,  as  we  have  said,  is  an  intimation  that  fashion  and  frivolity  had 
already  destroyed  the  character  of  most  of  the  women,  and  that 
those  who  were  of  real  virtue  were  not  to  be  met  with  in  the  ordi- 
nary places  of  society.  Like  other  precious  things,  they  are  hidden 
away  in  corners.  These  are  women  who  are  not  to  be  sought  for  at 
the  gay  watering-places  or  under  the  glare  of  the  world  of  fashion. 
The  woman  who  dresses  well  and  dances  well  is  not  necessarily  a 
virtuous  woman  or  one  to  be  desired  for  a  wife ;  though  for  that 
matter  a  virtuous  woman  may  both  dress  well  and  dance  well.  The 
one  described  in  our  study  at  least  dressed  well.  "Whoso  findeth  a 
wife  "  (such  as  this  one)  "  findeth  a  good  thing  and  obtaineth  favor 
of  the  Lord."  That  is  to  say,  "a  virtuous  "  or  ''prudent  wife  is  from 
the  Lord."  (Prov.  xviii,  22;  xix,  14.)  We  are  taught  in  these  two 
passages  that  the  virtuous  woman  is  one  whose  character  has  been 
sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  that  if  such  an  one  is  to  be  found 
she  is  to  be  obtained  (as  grace  is)  from  the  Lord.  Marriage  is  not 
or  ought  not  to  be  a  haphazard  affair.  If  there  is  anything  in  this 
world  in  which  a  man  needs  divine  guidance,  it  is  in  the  selection 
of  a  wife.  In  searching  for  a  wife  let  a  man  take  the  Lord  into  his 
confidence  and  choose  him  for  his  guide,  and  then  his  search  will  be 
rewarded  by  finding  this  hid  treasure  in  the  family  of  God. 


ISO  THE   EXCELLENT   WOMAN. 


II.— THE  VIRTUOUS   WOMAN  DESCRIBED. 

When  a  society  reporter  describes  the  conspicuous  woman  of  the 
world  his  remarks  are  usually  based  upon  her  graceful  carriage,  the 
quality  of  her  complexion,  the  gorgeousness  of  her  dress,  and  the 
wealth  of  her  jewels.  But  in  this  description  of  the  virtuous  woman 
the  inspired  prophet  sets  her  before  us  in  the  wealth  of  her  character 
and  her  good  works. 

1.  As  a  wife. — (i)  In  relation  to  her  husband.  She  is  an  object 
of  trust  and  confidence,  and  a  protector  of  his  best  wealth.  "  The 
heart  of  her  husband  doth  safely  trust  in  her."  (v.  11.)  He  has  in 
the  first  place  perfect  confidence  in  her  chastity  and  her  personal 
loyalty  to  him.  When  he  is  away  from  home  he  suffers  no  anxiety 
on  her  account,  and  when  he  is  at  home  he  is  disturbed  by  no  doubts 
of  her.  But  the  strict  meaning  of  this  passage  probably  is  that  in 
respect  of  her  general  conduct  and  good  sense  he  has  perfect  confi- 
dence. He  can  confide  all  his  business  to  her,  and  in  times  of  per- 
plexity he  can  with  equal  confidence  seek  her  advice.  He  is  not 
anxious  about  the  conduct  of  her  household  affairs.  He  knows  she 
will  not  run  into  debt  or  do  anything  which  will  give  him  anxiety  or 
cause  him  reproach.  He  has  no  worries  on  her  account,  either  be- 
cause of  any  fear  of  her  ability  or  of  her  wise  discretion.  "  He  shall 
have  no  need  of  spoil."  (v.  11.)  So  prudent  and  careful  is  she  of 
her  husband's  house  and  affairs,  so  anxious  not  to  spend  above  that 
which  her  husband  can  afford,  that  he  has  no  need  of  grinding  and 
grasping  to  get  money  enough  to  keep  her  extravagant  habits  sup- 
plied. If  he  has  plenty,  she  will  keep  it  with  care  ;  if  he  is  behind- 
hand in  money  matters,  she  will  by  her  prudent  economy  help  him 
to  a  better  position.  In  any  case,  such  is  her  character  as  a  "  help- 
meet for  her  husband  "  that  he  may  go  about  his  business  without 
any  anxious  or  dishonest  thought  of  how  to  rake  and  scrape  money 
enough  together  to  meet  her  expenditure.  She  is  in  fact  such  a 
mine  of  wealth  to  him  in  the  management  of  the  household  that  he 
does  not  need  to  seek  spoil  by  sharp  trading  and  overreaching,  or 
wear  himself  out  with  anxiety  to  make  money  on  her  account. 
Much  of  the  misery  of  men  to-day,  and  not  a  little  of  their  dishon- 
esty, arises  from  the  extravagance  and  vain,  thoughtless,  and  wicked 
expense  entailed  by  their  wives,  (ii)  "  She  will  do  him  good  and 
not  evil  all  the  days  of  her  life."  (v.  12.)  Her  constant  study  is 
not  only  to  make  him  cheerful  and  happy  at  home,  but  to  do  him 
good  and  save  him  from  all  evil.     She  looks  after  his  personal  com- 


THE   VIRTUOUS   WOMAN   DESCRIBED.  181 

fort  in  health,  and  tenderly  cares  for  him  in  sickness.  She  seeks, 
by  good  counsel,  tender  sympathy,  and  brave  fellowship  in  any  time 
of  anxiety  or  trouble,  to  share  and  lighten  his  burdens.  This  not 
only  during  the  honeymoon,  with  mere  tender  caresses  and  soft  en- 
dearments, but  she  is  constant  in  this  purpose,  and  grows  steadily 
more  helpful  as  the  years  go  by.  All  the  days  of  her  life  her  hus- 
band's happiness  and  welfare  are  the  chief  concern  of  her  thoughts, 
(iii)  In  respect  to  his  reputation  among  men,  "Her  husband  is 
known  in  the  gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the  land." 
(v.  23.)  That  is,  abroad  about  his  public  duties,  her  husband  is  so 
uniformly  happy  and  cheerful,  so  wise  and  quiet  in  his  mind,  so  free 
from  anxiety  and  that  impatient  hurry  to  get  rich  or  to  consummate 
his  plans,  that  everybody  knows  it  must  be  because  he  has  such  a 
happy  home.  The  wife  makes  a  good  reputation  for  him,  and  he  is 
congratulated,  if  not  in  words,  at  least  in  the  thoughts  of  his  fellow- 
judges,  on  having  a  wife  that  has  succeeded  in  doing  him  so  much 
good.  "Ah,  there  is  a  man,"  they  say,  "who  has  a  wife  among  a 
thousand.     He  is  a  happy  man." 

2.  As  a  housekeeper. — She  is  industrious  and  uses  her  time 
prudently,  (i)  ''She  seeketh  wool,  and  flax,  and  worketh  willingly 
with  her  hands."  (v.  13.)  The  modern  notion  is  that  a  wife  should 
be  supported  in  idleness,  and  bear  no  part  in  the  support  of  the 
family ;  that  she  is  to  be  dressed  by  her  husband,  and  freed  from 
all  care,  and  allowed  to  squander  her  time  either  in  idle  accom- 
plishments, mere  idle  reading,  or  senseless  social  diversions,  while 
her  husband  is  driven  to  seek  the  spoils  of  trade  or  profession.  But 
this  woman  sees  the  necessity  of  helping  her  husband,  and  to  this 
end  she  ''worketh  willingly  with  her  hands."  She  is  a  woman  who 
believes  that  it  is  as  much  the  business  of  the  wife  as  of  the  hus- 
band to  be  "not  slothful  in  business."  (Rom.  xii,  11.)  That  is,  in 
the  practical  affairs  of  life.  In  our  day,  soft  white  hands  are  more 
common  with  wives  than  busy  hands,  (ii)  She  is  a  good  provider. 
"  She  is  like  the  merchants'  ships  ;  she  bringeth  her  food  from  afar." 
(v.  14.)  Her  economy  (and  perhaps  the  share  she  has  in  the  making 
or  saving  of  money)  enables  her  to  put  on  her  table  not  only  the 
common  domestic  produce  of  her  own  garden,  but  even  the  luxuries 
and  dainty  things  imported  by  the  foreign  traders.  She  uOv,s  not 
send  out  ships  herself,  but  she  is  able  to  purchase  that  which  they 
bring  in  from  foreign  markets.  She  does  her  own  marketing,  and 
thinks  what  will  please  and  gratify  her  husband  when  he  comes 
home  for  his  dinner,  and  gives  him  a  good  and  dainty  breakfast 
to  cheer  him  and  content  him  before  he  goes  out  to  his  day's  work 


182  THE   EXCELLENT   WOMAN. 

or  business.  What  she  has  earned  or  saved  by  laying  her  hand  to 
the  spindle  and  holding  the  distaff  (v.  19)  enables  her  to  do  this.  If 
she  does  not  make  more  than  she  buys,  she  at  least  saves  much 
money  by  herself  doing  with  her  own  hands  what  an  idle  woman 
would  spend  in  wages  to  some  other  woman  to  do  for  her.  She  is 
her  own  dressmaker,  (v.  22.)  Nowadays  the  making  of  a  gown 
costs  as  much  or  more  than  the  material  out  of  which  it  is  made. 
This  prudent  and  industrious  wife  saves  that  outlay,  even  though  it 
be  at  the  expense  of  the  afternoon's  novel-reading  or  the  gossiping 
visits  of  her  equally  idle  neighbors,  (iii)  She  looks  after  her  own 
servants.  "  She  riseth  also  while  it  is  yet  night,  and  giveth  meat  to 
her  household,  and  a  portion  to  her  maidens."  (v.  15.)  Much  of  the 
waste  of  modern  family  life  grows  out  of  the  habit  of  leaving  all 
things  to  the  servants.  This  woman  does  not  lie  idly  in  bed  till 
the  cook  and  the  parlor-maid  have  gotten  the  breakfast  and  laid  the 
table,  but  is  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  herself  gives  out  her  ma- 
terials for  the  breakfast,  and  arranges  the  household  work  for  the 
day,  allotting  to  each  servant  (if  she  have  them)  her  task,  (iv)  She 
is  not  afraid  of  household  work  herself.  "She  girdeth  her  loins 
with  strength,  and  strengtheneth  her  arms."  (v.  17.)  Most  women 
nowadays  are  too  dainty  to  do  housework ;  but  this  woman  is  not 
content  to  do  needlework  alone,  but  she  tucks  up  her  dress  and 
bares  her  arms,  and  is  not  afraid  either  to  make  a  bed  or  sweep  a 
room.  Thereby  she  sets  a  good  example  to  her  servants  and  her 
daughters,  and  conserves  her  own  physical  health  and  strength. 
She  is  all  the  happier  in  mind  and  stronger  in  body  for  thus  strength- 
ening herself,  (v)  She  is  no  careless  idler.  "  She  looketh  well  to 
the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness." 
(v.  27.)  The  personal  supervision  of  her  household,  and  the  cheer- 
ful way  in  which  she  lays  a  hand  to  the  work  of  it,  encourage  her 
servants  and  give  good  training  to  her  daughters,  and  contribute 
both  to  the  family  happiness  and  to  wealth,  (vi)  She  takes  good 
care  of  the  personal  comfort  of  her  household.  "  She  is  not  afraid  of 
the  snow  for  her  household  :  for  all  her  household  are  clothed  with 
scarlet."  (v.  21.)  Her  industry  has  made  her  forehanded,  both  in 
weaving  cloth  and  making  it  up  during  the  summer  into  good  warm 
clothing  for  the  winter.  The  scarlet  here  spoken  of  has  reference 
not  only  to  the  color  but  the  texture  of  the  cloth.  Good  warm 
clothes  are  provided  and  ready  when  the  winter  brings  the  snow  and 
cold.  She  is  not  taken  unawares  or  unprepared.  There  is  no  rush 
and  worry  for  the  winter  clothing ;  her  industry  has  made  her  provi- 
dent.    Even  her  husband  has  had  a  share  in  her  careful  provision 


THE  VIRTUOUS  WOMAN   DESCRIBED.  183 

for  clotliing.  He  is  known  in  th.e  gates  as  one  of  the  best  and  most 
comfortably  dressed  men  in  the  town,  (vii)  She  is  not  unmindful 
either  of  the  beauty  of  her  house  or  the  proper  adornment  of  her  own 
body.  "  She  maketh  herself  coverings  of  tapestry ;  her  clothing  is 
silk  and  purple."  (v.  22.)  A  handsomely  furnished  house  and  a 
well-dressed  wife  are  pride  and  joy  to  her  husband.  This  indus- 
trious and  virtuous  woman  has  been  able  to  provide  both  these 
things.  Her  taste  and  handiwork  have  hung  her  house  with  pleas- 
ant tapestries,  and  her  thrift  and  skill  have  enabled  her  to  clothe 
herself  in  silk  and  purple.  If  her  attire  is  not  gaudy,  it  is  at  least 
of  rich  material  which  well  becomes  her,  and  makes  her  husband 
proud  both  of  her  good  appearance  and  of  the  means  by  which  she 
has  come  by  it,  as  to  the  material  and  the  making. 

3.  In  respect  of  the  family  wealth. — This  good  woman,  being 
industrious  and  thrifty  in  the  management  of  her  household,  has 
developed  good  business  ability  as  well.  "  She  considereth  a  field, 
and  buyeth  it."  (v.  16.)  In  the  meantime  she  has  been  thinking 
that  it  might  be  well  to  add  a  little  to  the  family  property.  There 
is  a  neighboring  field  for  sale.  She  has  well  considered  it.  She 
speaks  to  her  husband  and  suggests  the  propriety  of  buying  it.  Per- 
haps he  is  not  quite  able  to  do  so ;  but  she  surprises  him  by  telling 
him  that  she  has  some  savings  of  her  own,  with  which  she  is  enabled 
to  stock  the  new  bit  of  ground.  ''With  the  fruit  of  her  hands  she 
planteth  a  vineyard."  (v.  16.)  "  She  perceiveth  that  her  merchan- 
dise is  good  :  her  candle  goeth  not  out  by  night."  (v.  18.)  Having 
made  more  articles  of  domestic  use  with  her  spinning-wheel  and  her 
needle,  she  has  found  that  they  have  a  good  market  value,  and  was 
very  proud  when  she  discovered  that  the  merchants  were  eager  to 
buy  them  of  her.  Thus  getting  a  taste  of  the  joy  of  earning  as  well 
as  saving  money,  she  went  on  even  after  the  daylight  had  gone,  and 
by  candle-light  kept  at  work.  This  candle-light  work  did  not  pre- 
vent her  from  being  a  good  companion  to  her  husband.  The  work 
of  a  woman's  fingers  does  not  prevent  the  use  of  her  tongue,  and  no 
doubt  many  a  pleasant  evening  passed  between  husband  and  wife 
while  she  worked  away  with  her  hands,  and  they  talked  and  "took 
sweet  counsel  together."  ''She  maketh  fine  linen,  and  selleth  it; 
and  delivereth  girdles  unto  the  merchant."  (v.  24.)  When  the 
husband  and  wife  work  together  for  the  common  wealth,  there  is 
more  wealth  and  more  happiness  than  when  the  husband  alone  is 
the  bread-winner  and  the  wife  the  spendthrift  of  the  family.  With 
this  kind  of  joint  thrift  and  economy  she,  as  well  as  he,  is  "  clothed 
with  strength  and  honor,"  and  "in  time  to  come,"  when  working 


184  THE   EXCELLENT   WOMAN. 

days  are  over,  they  may  both  ''rejoice"  that  they  have  enough  for 
their  old  age  and  to  give  their  children  a  good  start  in  life.     (v.  25.) 

4.  In  relation  to  the  poor. — ''She  stretcheth  out  her  hand  to 
the  poor ;  yea,  she  reacheth  forth  her  hands  to  the  needy."  (v.  20.) 
Industrious  and  thrifty,  she  is  yet  no  miserly,  close-fisted  niggard. 
Thankful  for  her  own  health  and  plenty,  she  is  happy  to  be  able  to 
help  the  poor  and  needy.  She  does  not  simply  give  to  them  when 
they  seek  her  help,  but  she  "stretcheth  out  her  hand,"  reaching 
out  to  do  them  good.  This  is  true  charity.  She  stayed  at  home  to 
save  and  make  money  by  her  economy  and  thrift,  and  then  went 
abroad  to  distribute  to  the  poor.  She  fulfilled  the  apostolic  exhor- 
tation to  labor,  working  with  her  hands  that  she  might  have,  not 
only  to  keep,  but  to  give  to  them  that  need.  (Eph.  iv,  28.)  More 
than  that,  she  made  good  investments  in  this  way,  remembering  the 
words  that  he  that  "hath  pity  on  the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord,"  and 
that  other  beautiful  promise  of  the  Psalmist,  which  runs,  "Blessed 
is  he  that  considereth  the  poor,"  etc.     (Ps.  xli,  1-3.) 

5,  She  is  wise  in  counsel. — Some  may  think  that  this  woman 
so  industrious  and  thrifty  was  nothing  more  than  a  household 
drudge  ;  but  we  are  told  that  "  she  openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom ; 
and  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness."  (v.  26.)  Domestic  virtue 
and  household  industry  do  not  mean  intellectual  neglect.  This 
woman  was  a  cultured  as  well  as  a  wise  and  kind  woman.  Her  ad- 
vice was  sought  by  her  husband  and  neighbors,  and  when  she  spoke 
it  was  not  with  superior  censoriousness,  but  all  her  advice  and 
counsel  were  given  under  the  law  of  kindness.  A  woman  who 
knows  how  to  guide  her  own  household  well,  and  come  thriftily 
through  life,  keep  the  love  of  her  husband  and  the  respect  of  her 
children,  knows  how  to  advise  others. 

III.— THE  VIRTUOUS  WOMAN  HAD   IN  HONOR. 

Virtue  is  said  to  be  its  own  reward,  and  so  it  is ;  but  there  are 
other  rewards  besides,  and  this  woman  had  them  abundantly. 

1.  Her  children  rose  up  around  her,  and  called  her  blessed, 
(v.  28.) — That  is  a  happy  mother  Avho  retains  the  love,  respect,  and 
admiration  of  her  children.  "  I  owe  all  that  I  am  in  the  world  to 
my  mother,  God  bless  her,"  I  heard  a  young  man  say  recently.  "I 
ought  to  be  the  happiest  and  most  grateful  girl  in  the  world,  for  I 
have  a  saint  for  a  mother,"  wrote  a  young  lady  to  me  recently. 

2.  Her  husband  also  blesses  and  praises  her. — Nothing  is 
more  grateful  to  a  good  woman  than  the  hearty  praises  of  her  hus- 


THE   VIRTUOUS   WOMAN   HAD   IN   HONOR.  185 

band.  The  husband  of  the  virtuous  woman  joins  with  his  children 
in  blessing  their  mother,  and  he  is  hearty  in  her  praise.  She  is 
more  than  all  the  world  to  him,  and  there  is  no  woman  like  her. 
"Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously,  but  thou  excellest  them 
all."     (v.  29.)     This  is  high  praise,  and  she  well  deserves  it. 

3.  Her  own  works  praise  her. — "  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her 
hands;  and  let  her  own  works  praise  her  in  the  gates."  (v.  31.) 
She  well  enjoys  what  she  hath  wrought  and  won  by  her  virtue  and 
industry,  and  her  charities  and  good  deeds  are  known  in  the  city 
where  she  lives. 

4,  The  ground  of  her  praise. — "Favor  is  deceitful  and  beauty 
is  vain;  but  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord  she  shall  be  praised." 
(v.  30.)  If  a  woman  hopes  to  win  the  permanent  praise  of  her  hus- 
band and  children  and  the  people  of  her  town  on  the  ground  of  her 
wealth  or  beauty,  she  will  find  these  possessions  may  fail  her.  If  a 
man  sets  his  hopes  of  happiness  either  on  favor  or  beauty,  his  life 
will  be  wrecked,  most  likely ;  "  but  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord 
she  shall  be  praised."  Thus  we  see  that  the  Book  of  Proverbs  ends 
as  it  began  :  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom." 


XXIII. 

REVERENCE  AND   FIDELITY.— Eccles.  v,  1-12. 

(1)  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God,  and  be  more  ready- 
to  hear,  than  to  give  the  sacrifice  of  fools:  for  they  consider  not  that  they 
do  evil.  (2)  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty 
to  utter  any  thing  before  God :  for  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  earth : 
therefore  let  thy  words  be  few.  (3)  For  a  dream  cometh  through  the  mul- 
titude of  business;  and  a  fool's  voice  is  known  by  multitude  of  words.  (4) 
When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer  not  to  pay  it ;  for  he  hath  no  pleas- 
ure in  fools:  pay  that  which  thou  hast  vowed.  (5)  Better  is  it  that  thou 
shouldest  not  vow,  than  that  thou  shouldest  vow  and  not  pay.  (6)  Suffer 
not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin ;  neither  say  thou  before  the  angel, 
that  it  was  an  error :  wherefore  should  God  be  angry  at  thy  voice,  and  de- 
stroy the  work  of  thine  hands?  (7)  For  in  the  multitude  of  dreams  and  many 
words  there  are  also  divers  vanities :  but  fear  thou  God.  (8)  If  thou  seest 
the  oppression  of  the  poor,  and  violent  perverting  of  judgment  and  justice 
in  a  province,  marvel  not  at  the  matter :  for  he  that  is  higher  than  the  high- 
est regardeth ;  and  there  be  higher  than  they.  (9)  Moreover  the  profit  of  the 
earth  is  for  all:  the  king  himself  is  served  by  the  field.  (10)  He  that  loveth 
silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver ;  nor  he  that  loveth  abundance  with 
increase:  this  is  also  vanity.  (11)  When  goods  increase,  they  are  increased 
that  eat  them :  and  what  good  is  there  to  the  owners  thereof,  saving  the  be- 
holding of  them  with  their  eyes?  (12)  The  sleep  of  a  labouring  man  is  sweet, 
whether  he  eat  little  or  much:  but  the  abundance  of  the  rich  will  not  suf- 
fer him  to  sleep.— Eccles.  v,  1-12. 

After  all  that  critics  have  said  and  done,  and  they  have  handled 
this  book  of  Solomon  as  well  as  the  other  two,  as  if  the  main  pur- 
pose of  criticism  was  to  show  that  every  received  tradition  of  the 
Church,  whether  Jewish  or  Christian,  is  unfounded  simply  because 
it  is  Jewish  or  Christian,  there  is  yet  no  solid  reason  for  doubting 
that  Eeclesiastes  is  the  production  of  the  wise  king  the  son  of  David. 
That  it  differs  in  style  from  Proverbs  and  the  Song  of  Solomon  is  as 
true  as  that  the  subject-matter  of  it  is  different  from  either.  But  it 
should  be  remembered  that  this  theme  is  different,  and  the  time  of 
life  at  which  he  wrote  these  seripus  reflections  was  different  from 
that  in  which  he  spoke  his  Proverbs  or  composed  his  Song  of  Songs. 
As  for  the  general  interpretation  of  Eeclesiastes,  it  is  pretty  cer- 
tain that,  being  composed  in  his  later  years,  it  is  the  mature  reflec- 
tions of  the  great  king,  who  had  seen  the  vanity  and  folly  of  all 
things  under  the  sun  (taken  and  used  apart  from  God)  as  furnishing 

186 


THE   VANITY   OF   A   HEARTLESS   KELIGION.  187 

in  themselves  sources  or  even  means  of  true  happiness.  By  some  it 
has  been  thought  that  this  book  was  the  utterance  of  Solomon  as  a 
penitent  backslider ;  but  in  it  there  is  no  distinct  confession  of  sin, 
no  appeal  to  God  for  the  forgiveness  of  past  sins  or  even  errors.  It 
is  rather  a  philosophical  treatise  on  the  inadequacy  of  a  mere  earthly 
and  worldly  life  to  secure  happiness  for  the  soul ;  wealth,  honor,  and 
pleasure,  all  learning  and  all  human  culture,  cannot,  either  sepa- 
rately or  combined,  fill  up  the  measure  of  the  soul's  need  at  the  time 
of  its  greatest  crisis,  or  even  fully  satisfy  it  at  any  time.  The  gen- 
eral lesson  is  that  the  human  soul,  made  in  the  image  of  God,  even 
though  alienated  and  fallen  from  him,  is  still  overmade  for  this 
world,  and  will  find  all  things  "  under  the  sun  "  too  small  to  meet  its 
great  need  and  fill  up  its  capacity  for  happiness.  The  fountain-head 
of  the  soul's  true  river  of  life  and  of  pleasure  is  not  '^  under  the  sun," 
but  above  it,  where  God  dwelleth.  Wise  Matthew  Henry  says  Ec- 
clesiastes  is  (i)  a  sermon,  (ii)  a  penitential  sermon,  (iii)  a  practical 
and  profitable  sermon. 

I.— THE  VANITY  OF  A  HEARTLESS  RELIGION. 

Having  passed  under  review  all  the  sources  of  pleasure  and  profit 
in  this  world  and  found  them  all  vanity,  the  preacher  turns  at  last, 
with  a  little,  faint  light  burning  in  his  darkened,  gloomy,  and  dis- 
couraged soul,  to  the  house  of  God  and  to  the  worship  of  God  as  the 
only  possible  place  and  means  by  which  the  soul  may  find  even  the 
least  hope  and  satisfaction  in  this  life.  But  even  here  he  is  met 
with  the  thought  that  in  religion  there  is  so  much  sham  and  hy- 
pocrisy that  if  any  good  at  all  is  to  come  from  it,  it  must  be  through 
a  diligent  training  of  the  heart  to  hear  and  of  the  hands  to  obey 
the  Word  of  God.  Perhaps  Solomon  in  his  depression  turned  his 
thoughts  back  to  that  noble  structure  which  in  his  youth  he  reared 
to  God  and  dedicated  with  such  pomp ;  remembering  at  once  how 
tender  his  heart  then  was,  how  sincerely  he  had  made  his  vows,  how 
in  later  life  he  became  formal  in  his  worship  and  had  broken  his 
vows  in  going  after  vanities,  and  how  these  had  failed  him  and 
deceived  him.  Now  in  his  old  age  he  turns  again,  both  for  him- 
self and  others,  to  that  house.  But  remembering  the  danger  of  a 
half-hearted  or  insincere  worship,  he  cautions  against  anything  short 
of  a  whole-hearted,  serious,  and  upright  service  of  God.  .  Otherwise, 
even  the  house  of  God  and  his  worship  will  prove  vanity,  as  every- 
thing else  had  done  in  his  experience.  God  is  man's  only  hope ;  but 
even  this  is  a  vain  one  unless  the  heart  is  sincere  and  the  hand 


188  REVEEENCE   AND   FIDELITY. 

strong  to  ''pay  its  vows."  This  disappointed  king  has  been  walking 
through  a  long,  dark  night ;  his  faith  has  almost  failed ;  sometimes 
it  seems  to  have  done  so  entirely ;  the  darkness  has  been  unrelieved 
through  the  night ;  but  now  he  sees  a  faint  light  in  the  distance  and 
takes  heart  again,  but  dares  not  be  over-confident.  Still,  it  is  a  ris- 
ing light  and  will  lead  on  to  the  morning  after  the  night. 

1.  Reverence  enjoined  in  worship. — Our  only  hope  in  this  life 
is  to  be  found  in  communion  with  God.  He  only  is  the  satisfactory 
explanation  of  all  things.  He  only  has  the  remedy  for  all  human 
ills,  especially  the  ills  of  the  soul  and  of  "a  mind  diseased."  He 
only  is  the  reader  of  the  riddles  of  life  and  the  winder  aright  of  its 
"tangled  skein."  But  this  remedy,  the  worship  of  God,  is  not  to 
be  had  by  rushing  at  it  heedlessly,  insincerely,  or  half-heartedly. 
"Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God."  The  house 
of  God  in  the  days  of  Solomon  was  the  place  of  his  earthly  dwelling. 
There  his  presence  was  manifested.  That  was  the  place  where  he 
had  appointed  to  meet  his  peoi)le.  The  house  of  God  with  us  to-day 
is  only  the  place  of  formal  worship.  It  is  not  in  "  this  mountain  nor 
yet  at  Jerusalem  "  that  we  now  worship  God,  but  in  spirit,  with  our 
hearts  turned  to  him  wherever  we  are.  Still,  when  we  go  to  church 
we  are  supposed  to  be  deliberately  undertaking  an  act  of  solemn 
worship,  and  our  motives  and  our  actions  are  to  be  narrowly  scruti- 
nized and  carefully  ordered.  Wlien  God  called  Moses  in  the  wilder- 
ness out  of  the  burning  bush,  he  approached  the  place  where  God 
had  come  down  to  meet  him,  curiously  and  perhaps  a  little  irrever- 
ently. God  stopped  him  with  a  word  which  may  fairly  interpret  the 
injunction  of  Solomon  in  this  passage.  ''Draw  not  nigh  hither" 
(that  is,  as  you  are,  too  hastily  and  without  consideration):  "put 
off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest 
is  holy  ground."  (Ex.  iii,  5;  Josh,  v,  15.)  This  does  not  mean  that 
we  are  to  draw  nigh  to  God  either  slowly  or  reluctantly;  only  that, 
when  we  do,  we  are  to  ponder  well  the  object  of  our  going,  and  to 
approach  him  reverently  and  sincerely.  Too  many  go  to  the  house 
of  God  without  consideration;  lightly,  as  though  they  were  only 
going  into  man's  house.  Too  many  go  to  the  house  of  God  only  to 
hear  what  man  hath  to  say,  and  not  what  God  the  Lord  shall  speak 
to  them  out  of  his  Word.  Too  many  go  only  to  meet  and  to  see 
other  people,  with  little  or  no  thought  of  God  at  all.  Such  a  going 
to  the  house  of  God  is  unworthy  of  a  spiritual  creature,  and  an  in- 
sult to  God  himself,  and  can  only  do  harm  and  not  good  to  a  man. 
There  is  enough  to  be  considered  in  drawing  near  to  God  to  occupy 
the  serious  attention  of  the  whole  man,  body,  soul,  and  spirit.     Our 


THE   VANITY   OF   A  HEARTLESS   RELIGION.  189 

going  should  be  decorous,  our  attention  to  the  Word  or  worship 
attentive,  and  our  spiritual  attitude  humble  and  reverent. 

2.  Hearing  and  doing  the  Word  of  God. — The  primary  object 
of  attending  the  house  of  God  in  our  da^^  is  to  hear  his  Word  rather 
than  to  perform  mere  acts  of  worship.  ''Faith  cometh  by  hearing, 
and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God."  (Rom.  x,  17.)  ''Without  faith  it 
is  impossible  to  please  God,"  therefore  we  should  give  the  closest 
attention  to  the  reading  and  the  exposition  of  God's  Word  by  the 
teacher  or  preacher  whom  he  hath  given  for  the  purpose  of  instruc- 
tion and  edification.  (Eph.  iv,  11-13.)  A  fine  example  of  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  kingly  injunction  is  to  be  seen  in  the  manner  in 
which  the  people  listened  to  the  preaching  of  Ezra  (Neh.  viii,  3), 
where  we  are  told  that  "the  ears  of  the  people  were  attentive  to  the 
law  "  as  it  was  expounded  to  them  by  the  man  w^ho  "  had  prepared 
his  heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,"  and  to  teach  it.  (Ezra  vii, 
10.)  Where  there  is  such  a  preacher,  and  such  hearers  as  those  re- 
turned exiles,  there  will  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  be  upon  the  people. 
Our  Lord  himself  has  given  us  frequent  injunctions  to  hear  the  Word 
of  God  attentively,  for  out  of  it  in  connection  with  the  attitude  of 
the  heart  are  the  issues  of  life.  "Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear."  " Have  ye  understood  all  these  things?  "  "He  that  heareth 
my  Word  .  .  .  hath  everlasting  life."  (Matt,  xiii,  9,  51 ;  John  v,  24.) 
It  w^as  by  careless  hearing  that  the  Jews  lost  the  sense  of  their 
Scriptures,  and  "their  hearts  grew  fat,"  so  that  they  could  not  hear 
and  imderstand  the  truth.  (Matt,  xiii,  13-16 ;  John  xii,  40 ;  Acts 
xxviii,  26,  27  ;  II.  Cor.  iii,  14,  15. )  There  is  nothing  so  deadening  to 
the  soul  as  to  hear  the  Word  of  God,  or  read  it,  heedlessly.  The 
words  "be  more  ready  to  hear"  are  by  some  translated  "be  ready  to 
obey."  Certainly  the  hearing  of  the  Word  of  God  without  obedience 
is  but  the  mockery  of  hearing.  "  Be  ye  doers  of  the  Word,  and  not 
hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves."     (James  i,  22.) 

3.  A  warning  against  formalism. — In  contrast  with  a  reverent 
and  obedient  hearing  and  doing  of  the  Word,  he  speaks  of  "the  sac- 
rifice of  fools,"  who  "consider  not  that  they  do  evil."  There  may 
be  here  an  allusion  to  the  sin  and  folly  of  King  Saul,  who,  instead  of 
obeying  the  Word  of  God,  offered  a  vain  and  ostentatious  sacrifice 
to  him,  which  brought  out  the  rebuke  of  Samuel :  "  Hath  the  Lord 
as  great  delight  in  burnt-offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obeying  the 
voice  of  the  Lord?  Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to 
hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams."  (I.  Sam.  xv,  22.)  Saul  lost  his 
kingdom  because  he  heard  but  did  not  obey  the  Word,  but  brought 
instead  the  sacrifice  of  a  fool,  or  a  vain  sacrifice.     The  people  of 


100  REVERENCE   AND   FIDELITY. 

Israel  likewise  offended  in  this  wise,  to  the  destruction  of  their 
nation.  (Is.  i,  10-15.)  So  to-day,  under  cover  of  a  more  spiritual 
worship  there  is  much  sacrifice  of  folly  in  the  house  of  God.  It  is 
pitiful  to  see  multitudes  of  vain  people  flocking  to  the  house  of  God 
and  going  through  the  forms  of  worship  :  bowing  their  heads  upon 
the  pew-backs  on  entering  the  church  ;  standing  wp  to  sing ;  kneel- 
ing down  w^hile  the  prayer  is  being  uttered  ;  listening  with  wander- 
ing thoughts  while  the  Word  is  being  read  or  expounded ;  and  then 
going  out  straightway  to  forget  everything  they  have  heard,  and 
without  the  least  intention  of  doing  it.  The  curse  of  the  day  in  re- 
ligion is  this  sacrifice  of  fools — a  mere  vain  and  empty  formalism  in 
religion,  without  the  power  of  the  Spirit. 

4.  Against  empty  and  hasty  speech  in  religious  matters. — 
"  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth."  This  is  a  solemn  exhortation  against 
hasty,  ill-considered,  and  insincere  religious  speech  or  profession. 
If  a  man  is  not  sincerely  seeking  God,  he  had  better  refi'ain  from 
singing  hymns  or  making  prayers.  Even  many  good  people  are 
guilty  of  this  sin.  They  talk  and  pray  rashly — make  great  declara- 
tion of  their  religious  feelings  and  hasty  professions  of  their  pur- 
poses. One  of  the  great  sins  of  Israel  was  that  the  people  drew  near 
to  God  with  their  lips  while  their  hearts  were  far  from  him.  (Matt. 
XV,  8.)  Lip  service  is  one  of  the  worst  abominations  to  God.  Either 
in  prayer,  profession,  or  in  the  making  of  vows,  one  has  great  need 
to  consider  carefully  his  words.  '^Let  not  thy  heart  be  hasty  to 
utter  anything  before  God."  One  sometimes  trembles  to  hear  loud 
confessions  of  sin  in  prayer,  when  there  seems  to  be  no  correspond- 
ing humility  or  penitence  in  the  life  ;  to  hear  vehement  protestations 
of  love  for  God,  when  the  whole  life  is  almost  destitute  of  any  evi- 
dence of  love  to  man ;  to  hear  one  singing  lustily : 

"  Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want; 
More  than  all  in  thee  I  find  "— 

and  then  behold  after  the  hymn  a  M^orldly,  careless,  greedy,  grasp- 
ing, selfish  pursuit  of  the  pleasures  and  profits  of  the  world,  with 
no  compensating  acts  of  generous  beneficence.  Even  when  there 
is  heart  sincerity  in  prayer  or  profession,  in  testimony  or  vows  of 
consecration,  one  should  be  careful  not  to  let  his  mouth  run  away 
with  his  heart,  or  allow  his  words  to  smother  his  careful  thought. 
Even  our  heart  must  be  disciplined  and  kept  with  all  diligence,  for 
it  is  a  deceitful  member,  and  much  plausible  wickedness  lies  con- 
cealed in  it.  (Jer.  xvii,  9.)  As  the  mouth  must  not  be  rash,  so 
the  heart  must  not  be  hasty.     ''Quick  to  hear  and  slow  to  speak" 


AGAINST   RASH  VOWS.  191 

is  better  than  "Quick  to  speak  and  slow  to  do."  Mueh  of  the  ill- 
considered  speech  grows  out  of  an  irreverent  habit  of  assuming  that 
God  is  altogether  such  an  one  as  we  are  ourselves ;  that  it  is  not  in- 
decorous or  irreverent  to  rush  into  his  presence  and  speak  in  his 
presence  and  in  his  name  as  we  would  in  the  presence  of  mere  mor- 
tal men.  Indeed,  there  is  often  more  thoughtfulness  and  reverence 
in  the  presence  of  distinguished  men  than  in  the  presence  of  God. 
Remember  that  ''God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  earth:  there- 
fore let  thy  words  be  few."  To  disregard  this  wise  rule  is  to  ''do 
evil."  This  does  not  mean  that  we  are  not  to  come  boldly  into  the 
presence  of  God,  and  open  our  mouths  wide  and  ask  largely  that  our 
joy  may  be  full ;  that  we  are  never  to  make  long  prayers  if  there  be 
need ;  but  that  we  are  not  to  juggle  with  words  without  meaning 
and  sincerity,  as  the  Pharisees  did  (Matt,  vi,  7),  and  rattle  on  in  our 
talk  with  thoughtless  irreverence  or  vain  insincerity,  thinking  that 
by  our  much  speaking  we  shall  get  the  ear  of  God  and  secure  his 
arm.  We  cannot  but  remember  how  Jesus  spent  whole  nights  in 
prayer  to  God,  and  we  remember  the  long  prayers  of  Solomon,  as 
well  as  the  short  ones  of  Nehemiah.  Men  who  have  been  given  up 
to  a  multitude  of  conflicting  businesses  oftentimes  spend  the  night 
in  confused  dreaming,  much  of  which  is  meaningless  and  senseless. 
So  there  are  those  whose  words  pour  out  of  their  mouths  as  idle 
dreams  without  connection,  rhjnne,  or  reason.  Their  words  ramble 
in  prayer,  as  their  thoughts  ramble  all  over  the  world  and  back  to 
their  business  or  pleasure,  while  listening  to  the  Word.  "A  fool's 
voice  is  known  by  the  multitude  of  words."  That  is,  not  only  by 
the  number  of  them,  but  by  the  character  and  manner  of  them. 
Nothing  is  more  distressing,  disgusting,  and  harm-working  than 
religious  "havering." 

II.— AGAINST  RASH  VOWS. 

There  is  a  healthy  and  wise  caution  against  making  hasty  vows 
to  God. 

1.  Vows  are  lawful.— "When  thou  vowest "  does  not  imply  that 
one  should  never  make  a  vow  to  God.  Sometimes  a  man  finds  that 
a  vow  helps  him  over  a  weak  place,  by  binding  his  purpose,  as  it 
were,  to  the  throne  of  God  and  enlisting  in  a  solemn  manner  the 
help  of  God.  But  the  caution  here  is  that  a  vow  is  a  solemn  matter, 
and  if  it  is  made  it  must  be  paid.  "When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto 
God,  defer  not  to  pay  it."  Not  only  must  the  vow  be  paid,  but  it 
must  be  paid  promptly.     To  defer  to  pay  a  vow  is  to  suft'er  a  weaken- 


192  REVERENCE   AND   FIDELITY. 

ing  of  the  purpose  to  pay  it,  and  to  incur  the  danger  of  breaking  it 
altogether.  Do  not  seek  either  to  evade  or  to  postpone  it.  To  make 
a  vow  to  God  and  then  to  defer  its  payment,  not  to  say  to  avoid  it, 
is  to  demonstrate  yourself  a  fool.  God  does  not  require  your  vows ; 
he  is  quite  content  with  a  reverent  and  honest  service  without  these 
bonds ;  yet  if  you  feel  that  your  purpose  may  be  strengthened  by  a 
vow,  make  the  vow,  only  it  is  far  better  not  to  make  it  than  not  to 
fulfill  it.  "  Suffer  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin."  This  is 
against  rash  vows  made  without  consideration,  and  the  fulfilling  of 
which  might  be  greater  sin  than  the  keeping  of  them,  as  in  the  case  of 
Herod,  who  made  his  rash  vow  to  Salome,  and  then  for  the  sake  of 
consistency  committed  a  horrible  murder.  "  Neither  say  thou  before 
the  angel  that  it  was  an  error,"  By  the  angel  here  is  meant  possibly 
the  priest,  or  the  "guardian  angel,"  or  the  ''angel  of  the  covenant," 
in  whose  presence,  either  bodily  or  sjjiritually,  the  vow  was  made. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  some  hasty  vows  are  foolishly  made,  and  it 
is  as  well  to  break  them  as  to  keep  them;  they  are  ''more  honored 
in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance,"  but  in  such  a  case  there  is  a 
shameful  confession  to  be  made.  One  must  in  such  a  ease  go  to 
God  and  say:  ^'Lord,  I  was  foolish;  I  was  mistaken;  and  now  I 
must  recall  my  vow."  God  did  not  ask  it,  and  if  it  was  a  foolish 
vow  he  will  not  require  it  of  thee  ;  but  why  put  thyself  in  this  incon- 
sistent position  and  cause  people  who  have  known  thy  vow  to  mis- 
understand thee  ? 

2.  The  breach  of  some  vows  is  dangerous. — "Wherefore 
should  God  be  angry  at  thy  voice,  and  destroy  the  work  of  thy 
hands?"  Some  men  make  vows  to  God,  as  Jacob  did,  that  if  pros- 
perity comes  a  certain  portion  of  the  increase  shall  be  given  to  God. 
It  is  a  kind  of  bargain.  Then  when  the  prosperity  comes  the  vow  is 
forgotten,  and  God  is  angry  and  sends  calamity  upon  this  covenant- 
breaker.  Perhaps  the  anger  here  spoken  of  is  aroused  at  the  thought 
tliat  God  will  make  such  bargains  with  men,  who  vow  for  their  own 
profit  and  then  think  to  cheat  God.  Some  men  on  beds  of  sickness 
make  vows  that  if  God  will  raise  them  up  they  will  serve  him,  and 
then  being  spared  they  straightway  forget  their  vows  or  tear  them 
into  bits.  With  such  God  is  angry  and  will  most  likely  blast  all 
future  works  of  their  hands. 

3.  Dreams  and  the  fear  of  God. — "For  in  the  multitude  of 
dreams  and  many  words  there  are  also  divers  vanities  :  but  fear  thou 
God."  This  verse  is  probably  explanatory  of  many  of  these  foolish 
vows  which  are  made  and  broken.  A  multitude  of  false  prophets 
teach  many  words  and  make  vain  promises  and  exact  vows ;  super- 


THE  PERVERSION  OF  JUSTICE.  193 

stitious  people  get  to  indulge  and  cultivate  dreams  and  follow  them, 
seeking  to  guide  their  lives  and  direct  their  business  by  them.  These 
usually  come  to  confusion  and  involve  in  trouble  and  shame  the  su- 
perstitious followers  of  these  vain  words  and  silly  dreams,  which  are 
only  the  unconscious  movings  of  an  overtaxed  or  ill-directed  brain. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  king  gives  a  bit  of  solidly  good  advice : 
^'Fear  thou  Grod."  Attend  carefully  to  his  Word,  rely  upon  his 
grace,  and  diligently  do  his  will.  In  such  a  case  you  will  not  need 
to  make  a  vow,  nor  will  you  incur  the  danger  of  breaking  one. 

III.— THE  PERVERSION  OF  JUSTICE  AND  THE  VAN- 
ITY OF  RICHES. 

Here  are  two  things  which  the  king  speaks  of  that  are  worth  con- 
sidering. 

1.  The  perversion  of  justice. — '^If  thou  see  the  oppression  of 
the  poor,"  etc.,  '^ marvel  not  at  the  matter."  This  probably  referred 
to  the  extortion  of  taxes  by  the  collectors ;  but  a  wider  application  of 
it  may  be  made  in  our  day,  when  the  rich  oppress  the  poor  and  grind 
down  their  faces  in  order  to  get  rich  at  their  cost.  Well,  it  all  looks 
wrong,  and  it  is  wrong,  and  we  wonder  why  God  allows  it.  "Mar- 
vel not  at  it."  Do  not  be  surprised  that  wicked  men  do  these  things. 
What  more  is  to  be  expected  from  the  greedy,  grasping,  cruel  self- 
ishness of  man?  "Marvel  not  at  it."  Do  not  think  with  wonder 
that  God  has  not  seen,  or  has  forgotten  to  be  just.  There  are  com*ts 
of  appeal  on  the  earth,  and  there  is  a  final  court  of  appeal  in  heaven, 
before  which  every  act  of  injustice  done  on  the  earth,  and  for  which 
restitution  has  not  been  made,  will  come  up  for  settlement.  Just 
as  one  satrap  is  over  another  and  the  king  over  all,  so  God  is  over 
all  kings — the  very  highest  authority.  As  the  action  of  human 
courts  in  cases  of  appeal  is  slow,  so  God  acts  slowly,  but  he  always 
acts  surely  and  justly.  There  are  two  worlds  in  which  to  make 
things  right.  "Shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect,  though  he 
bear  long  with  them?  I  tell  you  that  he  will  avenge  them  speedily." 
Marvel  not,  and  "  fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil-doers."  (Ps.  xxxvii, 
1.)  Correct  an  evil  when  you  can,  but  do  not  despair  because  you 
cannot  bring  all  things  right  in  this  world,  and  do  not  distrust  God 
because  he  does  not  put  things  right  as  fast  as  you  think  he  ought. 
God's  mill  grinds  slowly,  but  it  grinds  surely :  "Marvel  not." 

2.  The  vanity  of  riches. — All  men  are  alike  dependent  upon 
the  providence  of  God.  Even  the  king  is  dependent  upon  the  earth 
for  hik  riches  and  power,  just  as  much  as  the  peasant  is.     If  the 


194  EEVERENCE  AND  FIDELITY. 

farmer  fails,  the  merchant  fails ;  if  the  merchant  fails,  the  king  fails. 
Let  "US  remember  that  all  men  are  on  a  common  footing  before  God. 
This  is  why  all  things  will  come  out  right  at  last.  The  differences 
between  man  and  man,  the  prosperity  of  the  rich  and  the  poverty  of 
the  poor,  are  superficial  differences  after  all,  and  as  temporary  as 
they  are  superficial.  '^  He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be  satisfied 
with  silver ;  nor  he  that  loveth  abundance  with  increase."  There  is 
a  great  delusion  in  riches,  so  far  as  a  man's  peace  of  mind  and  quiet 
of  heart  is  concerned.  ''  This  is  also  vanity."  With  the  increase  of 
goods  comes  an  increase  of  all  manner  of  expenses — more  servants, 
a  larger  house,  more  dependent  friends  and  relatives,  more  hangers-. 
on,  more  beggars,  more  attacks  on  the  riches,  and  a  thousand  and 
one  worries  that  more  than  overbalance  all  the  satisfaction  afforded 
by  the  riches.  That  which  is  over  and  above  what  can  be  readily 
and  rightly  used  and  hoarded  up  can  afford  no  satisfaction  beyond; 
that  of  the  miser's — "  the  beholding  of  them  with  their  eyes."  Upon, 
the  whole,  the  lot  of  the  laboring-man  is  better  than  that  of  the  rich, 
whether  he  have  a  bare  sufficiency  or  an  abundance  on  his  table. 
He  at  least  can  sleep  without  a  care,  whereas  the  worries  connected 
with  the  getting  and  keeping  of  wealth  drives  sleep  from  the  eyes  of 
many  a  rich  man.     "  Be  content  with  such  things  as  ye  have." 


XXIV. 

THE  CREATOR   REMEMBERED.— Eccles.  xii,  1-7,  13,  14. 

(1)  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil 
days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  them;  (2)  While  the  sun,  or  the  light,  or  the  moon,  or  the  stars, 
be  not  darkened,  nor  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain :  (3)  In  the  day  when 
the  keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremble,  and  the  strong  men  shall  bow  them- 
selves, and  the  grinders  cease  because  they  are  few,  and  those  that  look  out 
of  the  windows  be  darkened,  (4)  And  the  doors  shall  be  shut  in  the  streets, 
Avhen  the  sound  of  the  grinding  is  low,  and  he  shall  rise  up  at  the  voice  of 
the  bird,  and  all  the  daughters  of  music  shall  be  brought  low;  (5)  Also 
when  they  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  is  high,  and  fears  shall  be  in  the 
way,  and  the  almond  tree  shall  flourish,  and  the  grasshopper  shall  be  a 
burden,  and  desire  shall  fail :  because  man  goeth  to  his  long  home,  and  the 
mourners  go  about  the  streets :  (6)  Or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or  the 
golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain,  or  the 
wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  (7)  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as 
it  was:  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it.  (13)  Let  us  hear 
the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter:  Fear  God,  and  keep  his  command- 
ments: for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.  (14)  For  God  shall  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or 
whether  it  be  evil.— Eccles.  xii,  1-7,  13,  14. 

Whether  Ecclesiastes  was  written  in  the  old  age  of  Solomon,  or 
by  some  wise  man  during  or  just  at  the  close  of  the  captivity,  in  the 
days  of  Ezra  or  Nehemiah,  is  a  question  which  scholars  may  discuss. 
It  has  no  important  place  in  these  pages.  "Whether  the  book  is  the 
lamentations  of  a  backslider  or  the  philosophical  meditations  of  a 
man  who  was  desirous  of  putting  his  readers  on  the  quest  for  the 
only  true  good  to  be  found  in  this  world,  are  two  points  of  inter- 
pretation. The  meaning  in  the  book  may  be  found  and  truly 
learned,  whichever  standpoint  we  take,  either  as  to  authorship  or 
intention.  It  is  certain  that,  taking  the  book  altogether,  there  is 
in  it  a  quest  after  good  '^ under  the  sun,"  and  a  failure  to  find  it  in 
any  created  thing  or  in  any  earthly  pursuit.  The  writer  takes  us 
through  the  ways  of  wisdom,  the  pursuit  of  business,  the  love  of 
pleasure,  the  lust  of  power,  and  only  at  last,  when  he  comes  to  the 
house  of  God,  and  to  God  himself,  is  there  any  satisfaction  to  be 
found.  And  that  not  in  connection  with  a  mere  ritual  service,  but 
a  reverent  desire  to  accept  life  as  the  gift  of  God,  the  earth  as  a 
sphere  of  present  opportunity,  in  which  to  do  good  to  one's  self  and 


196  THE  CREATOR  REMEMBERED. 

to  one's  neighbor,  .unselfishly  and  lovingly,  nothing  doubting  the 
issues  of  such  a  life — casting  our  bread  upon  the  waters,  "  giving  a 
portion  to  seven,"  not  prying  curiously  into  the  too  mysterious  se- 
crets of  God  in  creation  before  going  to  work  and  using  the  forces 
of  nature  lying  around  us,  sowing  our  seed  morning  and  evening, 
not  knowing  which  shall  prosper,  this  or  that.  This  only  is  the  true 
philosophy  of  life.  The  sunlight  is  pleasant  and  youth  is  sweet,  yet 
the  darkness  will  come  in  the  end.  Youth  will  give  way  to  old  age, 
and  life  itself  will  in  the  end,  like  all  things  else,  be  found  to  be 
vanity.  He  would  not  have  the  young  man  go  with  low-hanging 
head  because  all  human  things  fail  of  meeting  the  great  wants  and 
aspirations  of  the  soul,  nor  because  darkness  comes  after  the  day, 
and  death  follows  upon  life  even  when  a  man  has  lived  many  years. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  would  have  the  youth  who  has  found  in  God 
the  true  rest,  rejoice  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  and  be  happy-hearted, 
letting  his  eyes  delight  themselves  in  beauty  and  his  heart  in  all 
things  that  make  glad  youthful  days,  even  when  much  disappoint- 
ment and  sorrow  is  seen  all  around,  much  wrong  is  done,  and  mis- 
fortunes which  have  no  explanation  come — confident  that  God  will 
bring  us  into  the  judgment  of  his  righteousness,  when  the  good  will 
be  rewarded,  and  the  evil  avenged,  (xi,  9.)  God  is  over  all,  and 
his  judgment  extends  to  everything.  The  world,  after  all,  is  not  a 
misshapen,  haphazard  accident  of  blind  forces,  and  the  issues  of  it 
are  not  uncertain.  God  is  over  all,  and  judgment  is  coming  to  set 
all  wrong  things  right  and  to  make  all  right  things  shine  gloriously. 
This  is  the  bright  and  hopeful  ending  of  the  book  up  to  the  end  of 
the  eleventh  chapter.  At  least,  so  I  think  the  book  should  be  read. 
Man's  soul  is  too  big  for  this  world ;  yet  let  him  make  the  best  of 
the  good  that  is  in  it,  get  all  the  happiness  out  of  it  he  can,  not  as 
the  miserable,  unbelieving  epicure  does,  but  as  the  happy  believer 
in  God  and  the  life  to  come  ought  to  do. 

I.— A  GODLY  YOUTH  CONTRASTED  WITH  A  GOD- 
LESS OLD  AGE. 

The  last  verse  of  the  eleventh  chapter  is  not  a  sarcasm  upon  the 
vanities  and  follies  of  youth,  but  a  picture  of  happy  and  hopeful  life 
when  there  is  a  real  and  reverent  fear  of  God  in  the  heart.  It  is 
only  as  we  remember  this  that  we  can  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  first  verse  of  our  present  study.  That  is,  if  thou  wouldst  rejoice 
in  thy  youth  and  delight  thyself  in  the  light  of  thine  eyes  and  in  the 
happy  ways  of  the  heart,  then  "  remember  thy  Creator  in  the  days 


GODLY  YOUTH  VERSUS  GODLESS  OLD  AGE.   197 

of  thy  youth,"  lest  the  evil  days  of  a  godless  old  age  come  upon  thee 
aud  the  storm  of  death  and  judgment  overtake  thee  and  find  thee 
unprepared. 

1.  Youthful  piety  enjoined. — I  have  never  seen  an  old  Chris- 
tian regret  that  he  gave  his  heart  to  God  in  the  days  of  his  youth. 
I  have  never  seen  an  old  sinner  but  that  he  regretted  he  did  not  be- 
come a  Christian  when  young.  The  advice  of  the  wise  preacher  is 
(i)  To  "remember  the  Creator."  That  is,  to  think  on  him  and  take 
him  into  one's  heart  as  well  as  one's  thoughts.  To  make  anything 
else  than  him  the  object  of  thought  and  possession  as  the  chief  good 
is  to  blunder  in  all  life  to  come.  Knowledge,  the  pursuit  of  busi- 
ness, wealth,  pleasure,  and  earthly  power  will  all  prove  vanity  in  the 
end.  They  are  essentially  unsatisfying  in  themselves,  and  the  con- 
dition under  which  they  may  be  enjoyed  at  best  will  rapidly  pass 
away,  and  leave  all  life  a  miserable  bankrupt  concern  ;  but  with  God 
in  the  thoughts  and  in  the  heart  the  soul  may  always  have  pleasure 
in  this  world,  Avhether  the  quest  after  w^orldly  things  is  successful 
or  is  disappointing,  (ii)  It  is  the  Creator  who  is  set  before  the 
thought  of  youth.  Perhaps  in  our  day  we  would  more  particularly 
emphasize  the  thought  of  God  as  a  Redeemer  and  Saviour.  We 
would  say,  '^Remember  Jesus."  But  "thy  Creator  is  thy  Re- 
deemer," and  we  do  not  dishonor  Jesus  when  we  remember  that  "all 
things  were  made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  not  anything  made 
that  was  made  "  which  appears  in  this  world.  How  can  we  enjoy 
or  make  the  best  of  this  world  if  it  is  not  remembered  that  it  is  God's 
world,  and  not  the  devil's  world  or  a  world  of  chance?  Our  life, 
with  all  the  powers  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  is  the  work  of  the 
Creator.  The  world  and  all  things  herein,  its  sunshine  and  shadow, 
its  light  and  darkness,  its  flowers  and  its  food,  are  God's  gifts  to  us. 
If  we  look  above  us  into  the  face  of  the  sunlight,  or  the  starlit  sky, 
we  may  be  glad  that  these  are  the  works  of  his  hands ;  if  we  look 
beneath  us  and  behold  the  earth  carpeted  with  flowers  and  wa\'ing 
with  the  fruits  of  the  field  and  the  vineyard,  these  also  are  God's 
gifts.  More  and  more  as  we  grow  older,  the  thought  of  God  as  the 
Creator  becomes  a  great  delight.  If  we  have  him  in  fellowship  with 
us  by  "remembering  him,"  there  is  an  added  delight  in  everything. 
Does  any  one  imagine  that  the  sun  shines  less  brightly  because  ho 
remembers  God?  or  that  the  flowers  are  less  beautiful  because  God 
made  them?  or  that  food  is  less  sweet  to  the  taste  because  God  has 
fitted  them  to  our  bodily  necessities  and  given  us  appetites  with 
which  to  enjoy  them?     Are  our  friends  less  dear  to  us  because  they. 


198  THE  CREATOR  REMEMBERED 

because  tliey  remind  us  of  his  rigliteousncss,  or  the  sea  its  wonders 
and  glory  because  he  holds  its  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand? 
Even  the  mysteries  of  evil  and  suffering  which  are  in  the  world  be- 
come more  bearable  when  we  remember  God,  and  that  he  is  over  all 
and  doubtless  will  unravel  these  mysteries  to  us.  The  poisonous 
weed  ceases  to  be  an  evil  when  it  is  guaranteed  by  the  sweet  flower 
that  grows  at  its  side  ;  the  hiss  of  the  deadly  cobra  does  not  terrify 
us  so  much  when  we  remember  the  note  of  the  song-bird ;  the  storm 
and  tempest,  the  rush  of  clouds  and  the  flash  of  the  lightning,  are 
less  terrible  when  we  remember  the  happy  sunshine  and  the  soft 
evening  breeze,  the  glories  of  the  morning  and  the  evening  when 
they  blush  upon  the  low-lying  eastern  and  western  horizons.  With- 
out God  all  these  things  would  be  hopeless  confusion,  meaningless 
contradictions,  and  the  sarcasm  of  blind  and  brutal  force  making 
unintelligible  sport  of  the  world  above  our  heads  and  beneath  our 
feet,  (iii)  "Remember  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,"  be- 
cause then  the  heart  is  tender  and  childlike  and  less  liable  to  evil 
suggestion  of  wicked  temptations  and  the  teachings  of  bad  men; 
because  if  we  remember  him  in  our  youth  we  are  less  likely  to  forget 
him  in  our  manhood ;  because  if  we  remember  him  in  our  youth  we 
shall  have  him  as  a  companion  in  our  thoughts  and  heart  all  through 
the  journey  of  life.  I  once  knew  a  little  boy  who  had  a  wise  and 
learned  father.  That  little  fellow  always  begged  his  father  to  go 
with  him  and  his  little  fellows  when  they  went  for  a  day's  walk  in 
the  country.  "  Because  father  knows  how  to  do  everything,  and  can 
tell  us  all  about  the  flowers  and  the  rocks  and  the  things  every- 
where." So  God  in  our  youth,  as  the  companion  of  our  early  life, 
will  make  the  world  beautiful  and  true  to  our  otherwise  blind  eyes 
and  ignorant  hearts.  Because  if  we  remember  God  in  our  youth  he 
will  not  forget  us  in  our  old  age ;  if  we  remember  him  when  we  are 
full  of  young  life  he  will  not  forget  us  when  the  work  of  decay  and 
the  storm  of  death  comes  down  upon  us.  This  leads  us  up  to  the 
next  thought. 

2.  A  godless  old  age  set  forth. — "  While  the  evil  days  come 
not."  The  first  seven  verses  after  the  first  exhortation  to  remember 
the  Creator  are  devoted  to  a  graphic  description  of  the  miseries  of  a 
godless  old  age,  and  the  terrors  of  death  and  judgment  to  the  man 
who  has  forgotten  his  Creator  and  lived  only  in  the  "  vanity  of  vani- 
ties "  of  the  life  that  now  is,  without  God.  The  picture  is  a  com- 
posite one,  and  the  two  conditions  are  joined  and  mingled  together. 
That  the  wise  teacher  has  death  in  mind,  after  old  age,  or  as  well 
as  old  age,  is  clearly  evident  from  the   fifth  and  seventh  verses. 


GODLY  YOUTH  VERSUS  GODLESS  OLD  AGE.    199 

where  he  speaks  of  man  "  going  to  his  long  home  "  and  the  body  ''  re- 
turning to  the  earth  as  it  was^  and  the  spirit  returning  to  God  who 
gave  it."  (i)  The  miseries  of  a  godless  old  age.  He  first  speaks  of 
the  evil  days  of  old  age  coming,  when  the  soul  has  no  pleasures  in  the 
things  and  ways  of  the  world  which  so  rejoice  the  heart  of  the  young 
man.  (xi,  9 ;  xii,  1-2. )  There  is  no  more  beautiful  sight  in  the 
world  than  a  happy  old  man,  who  from  the  days  of  his  youth  has 
remembered  his  Creator,  waiting  peacefully  for  his  great  change  to 
come.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  nothing  more  pitiable  than  to  see 
an  old  man,  the  pleasures  of  youth  all  gone ;  the  sun  and  the  light 
and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  show  the  handiwork  of  the  glo- 
rious Creator,  all  darkened,  because  he  sees  not  in  them  the  work  of 
God's  hand.  The  storm  of  life  has  passed,  and  yot  there  is  looming 
on  his  horizon  the  darkness  of  coming  clouds,  which  bode  another 
storm,  this  time  of  death  and  destruction.  His  heart  is  hard ;  unbe- 
lief has  become  the  habit  of  his  soul ;  an  hundred  infidelities  which 
he  had  encouraged  now  fail  him,  and  "  the  hail  shall  sweep  away 
the  refuge  of  lies."  Oh,  miserable,  infidel  old  age,  who  would  will- 
ingly face  it?  ''Without  God,  without  hope,  without  excuse,  and 
without  remedy."  Even  a  good  man  who  knows  God  suffers  the  loss 
of  the  pleasures  of  youth,  as  did  good  Barzillai.  "  I  am  this  day 
fourscore  years  old :  and  can  I  discern  between  good  and  evil  ?  can 
thy  servant  taste  what  I  eat  or  what  I  drink  ?  can  I  hear  any  more 
the  voice  of  singing  men  and  singing  women  ?  "  (II.  Sam.  xix,  35. ) 
If  this  be  so  with  good  old  age  what  must  it  be  to  godless  old  age  ? 
Only  last  night  I  was  sitting  quietly  reading  in  my  bungalow  (here 
in  Burmah),  and  there  came  to  my  ears  the  sound  of  revelry  from  a 
lot  of  gay  and  happy  young  men  living  together  in  a  "  chummery  " 
across  the  way,  singing,  dancing,  roistering,  and  rollicking,  in  pure 
delight  of  youth  and  high  spirits.  I  am  not  yet  an  old  man,  but  I 
eould  but  think  how  little  pleasure  there  is  now  in  those  things, 
though  twenty-five  years  ago  I  would  have  been  first  in  them.  The 
change  was  in  myself,  th«  change  which  years  bring.  I  could  scarce 
refrain  from  happy  tears  at  the  thought  that  though  these  days  were 
come  upon  me  when  I  take  no  more  pleasure  in  such  things,  yet  a 
quiet  and  blessed  peace  was  reigning  in  my  heart ;  and  I  thanked 
God  that  I  had  remembered  my  Creator  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  and 
now  he  was  keeping  watch  and  ward  over  the  autumn  of  my  life. 
No  cloud  after  rain  was  coming  up  over  against  my  hope  ;  the  light 
was  still  in  the  day  and  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  because  the 
glory  of  God  was  shining  through  them  from  afar.  Old  days  are  evil 
days  to  the  godless,     (ii)  The  tempest  of  death.     The  beautiful  and 


200  THE  CREATOR   REMEMBERED. 

highly  poetical  passage  in  the  verses  here  being  considered  (3-7)  has 
"been  variously  interpreted.  Most  modem  commentators  interpret 
them  as  an  allegorical  picture  of  the  decay  of  the  physical  powers 
under  the  breath  of  old  age.  But  it  is  most  likely  that  they  are  but 
a  parable  of  death  under  the  figure  of  a  summer  storm  bursting 
over  an  Eastern  village  or  city — similar,  indeed,  to  the  parable  of  our 
Lord.  (Matt,  vii,  24-27.)  The  city  is  built  with  narrow  streets  be- 
tween the  houses ',  there  has  already  been  rain,  but  the  sky  has 
cleared  and  the  people  are  out  and  about  again.  The  keepers  are 
at  the  doors  of  the  houses  of  the  wealthy ;  the  women  are  sitting  at 
their  latticed  windows  looking  abroad  with  their  eyes  where  their 
feet  may  not  come ;  strong  men  are  about  the  streets ;  the  hum  of 
the  grinding  mills  is  heard  everywhere  as  the  women  are  preparing 
the  flour  for  the  evening  meal.  Others  are  singing  in  the  gladness 
of  their  hearts,  or  these  same  grinders  are  singing  to  while  and 
lighten  the  tedium  of  their  hard  and  monotonous  labor ;  the  wealthy 
and  idle  men  are  seated  in  their  cool  gardens  picking  their  fruits  and 
eating  the  locusts  (grasshoppers),  well  prepared  with  almonds  ancl 
caper-berries.  Suddenly  the  clouds,  which  cleared  away  but  an  hour 
ago  when  the  rain  ceased,  have  come  up  again ;  a  fierce  tempest 
rushes  down  from  the  heights  above  ;  the  clouds  are  split  with  a  red 
and  ragged  flame  of  lightning ;  the  thunder  roars  and  bursts  with 
deafening  peal  upon  the  ear ;  the  rain  pours  down  in  torrents  and  is 
swept  into  the  doors  of  the  houses.  At  this  the  guards  at  the  front 
of  the  houses,  loyal  to  their  post  yet,  tremble ;  strong  men  bow 
themselves  as  if  to  avoid  the  crashing  thimder  or  to  escape  the 
forked  lightning  as  it  leaps  out  of  the  sky ;  the  grinding  women  cease 
from  their  work,  so  that  there  are  few  left  to  grind ;  and  the  hum  of 
the  mill,  which  erstwhile  filled  all  the  street,  is  low ;  the  ladies  have 
fled  from  their  latticed  windows ;  the  doors  of  the  houses  are  shut, 
and  the  men  spring  up  from  their  couches  and  leave  the  spiced  lo- 
custs ;  the  sweet  almond  and  the  caper-berry  (the  appetizing  portion 
which  creates  desire  for  food)  are  forgotten.  The  birds  fly  shrieking 
or  whistling  through  the  air,  seeking  shelter  or  rejoicing  in  the  storm. 
Men  and  women  look  up  with  eyes  of  thought,  and  fear  the  destruc- 
tion which  is  coming  down  upon  them  from  on  high,  that  is,  out  of 
the  heavens.  Such  a  storm  have  I  seen  here  in  the  East,  and  every 
detail  here  set  forth  is  true  to  life.  This  is  the  parable  of  death 
and  judgment.  That  it  is  so  is  apparent  from  the  allusions  to  the 
"mourners  that  go  about  the  streets"  and  the  beautiful  parables 
contained  in  the  reference  to  the  cord,  bowl,  and  pitcher.  Death 
will  come  at  last,  and  if  it  come  to  those  who  know  not  God,  how 


THE   CONCLUSION   OF   THE   ^TIOLE   MATTER.       201 

miserable  it  will  be  !  The  beautiful  lamp  that  hangs  suspended  by  a 
silver  chain  will  fall  at  last  from  the  ceiling,  though  it  has  hung 
long ;  and  the  golden  bowl,  or  the  bowl  that  holds  the  golden  oil,  will 
be  broken ;  the  pitcher  that  has  gone  often  to  the  fountain  will  one 
day  be  broken  ;  and  the  earthen  water-jars  that  furnish  the  beauti- 
ful wheel  at  the  cistern  will  also  be  broken.  All  these  things  have 
I  seen  in  this  beautiful  East.  So  will  death  at  last  overtake  every 
man.  Life's  silver  cord  will  snap,  the  bowl  that  liolds  the  mysteries 
of  life  will  be  broken,  the  pitcher  will  be  crushed,  and  the  wheel  of 
the  body's  activities  will  cease  its  functions.  "  Then  shall  the  dust 
return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God 
who  gave  it. "  Alas  for  that  man  who  shall  be  overtaken  by  death 
without  God  in  his  remembrance !  Life,  even  to  old  age  and  with 
all  its  possibilities,  will  then  bo  seen  to  be  vanity,     (v.  8.) 

II.— THE   CONCLUSION   OE   THE   WHOLE   MATTER. 

The  search  after  the  satisfying  portion  is  over.  All  "  under  the 
sun"  without  God  "is  vanity."  God  remembered  in  youth,  life  with 
the  hope  of  immortality,  and  the  world  enjoyed  with  God  in  fel- 
lowship, is  the  only  possible  good  in  this  world,  and  that  is  ^'rery 
good."  The  preacher  justifies  his  wisdom  to  his  readers  by  having 
taught  the  people  this  knowledge,  and  in  searching  all  the  wise 
proverbs  and  setting  them  forth  in  attractive  words  so  that  all  might 
hear  and  understand  these  things.  The  words  of  wise  teachers  are 
like  goads  and  stakes :  the  goad  to  urge  on  the  too  conservative 
man,  and  the  stake  to  hold  down  as  a  tent-cord  the  too  progressive ; 
to  regulate  wild  thought  as  well  as  to  stimulate  slow  thought.  Both 
the  old  conservatism  and  the  new  radicalism  is  from  the  same  Shep- 
herd of  souls.  Wise  men  do  well  in  teaching  both  to  hold  with  the 
old  and  march  with  the  new  thought  which  God  is  giving  forth  io  us 
in  this  day  as  well  as  in  the  day  of  this  wise  preacher.  The  end  is 
to  be  instructed  in  the  truest  wisdom.  This  wisdom  is  not  found  in 
the  multitude  of  books  or  in  the  wearying  study  of  them.  God  has 
set  forth  the  truth  to  us  in  his  revelation,  written  in  the  Book  of 
books,  in  the  wide  world  of  creation,  and  in  the  heart  and  conscience 
of  man.  The  end  is  to  study  them  wisely  and  truly,  with  a  heart  open 
to  God,  and  to  practice  the  truth  and  wisdom  gained  therefrom  dili- 
gently.    Now  what  is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter? 

1.  To  fear  God. — "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom," saith  the  first  chapter  of  Proverbs  ;  so  it  is  the  middle  and  end 
of  wisdom.     So  saith  the  concluding  words  of  Ecclesiastes.    To  fear 


202  THE  CEEATOR   REMEMBERED. 

God  is  not  to  bo  afraid  of  him,  but  to  reverence  and  recognize  him  as 
the  Creator  and  Author  of  all  good,  as  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  who 
is  doing  all  for  the  best.  To  deny  God  is  to  prove  one's  self  to  be  a 
fool.  To  doubt  God  is  to  show  that  one  has  never  known  God.  To  be 
afraid  of  God  is  to  prove  that  one's  heart  is  not  right  and  one's  life  has 
been  given  to  folly.  For  why  should  one  be  afraid  of  God  unless  his 
own  heart  condemn  him?  To  ignore  God  and  seek  to  get  the  highest 
good  out  of  his  world  is  to  play  the  ingrate  and  the  thief.  For  has  not 
God  made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves,  and  has  not  God  made  the  world 
and  blessed  it  for  man's  use  and  given  it  to  him  with  all  things  in  it 
richly  to  enjoy  ?  To  fling  ourselves  out  of  his  hands  is  to  do  him  a  cruel 
and  ungrateful  wi'ong,  and  then  to  live  in  his  world  without  thanksgiv- 
ing is  but  to  return  and  rob  the  Father  whose  house  we  have  abandoned. 

2.  To  keep  his  commandments. — Not  to  become  a  slavish 
legalist  like  the  Pharisee,  nor  a  formalist  like  silly  men  and  women 
who  think  that  by  parading  themselves  in  the  house  of  God  with  idle 
ceremonies  they  can  honor  God ;  but  by  setting  one's  heart  to  find 
out  the  will  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  and  to  have  a  ivilUng  idll  to  do 
that  will  as  we  find  it.  Not  to  serve  God  by  rule  and  rote,  but  lov- 
ingly, happily,  and  joyfully.  His  yoke  is  easy,  his  burdens  are  light, 
and  none  of  his  commands  are  grievous.  The  way  of  the  trans- 
gressor is  hard ;  but  all  the  ways  of  wisdom  (that  is,  the  command- 
ments of  God)  are  "ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace."  Whether  in  the  highway  of  public  life  or  in  the  byway  of 
private  life,  to  fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man.  The  way  to  find  these  ways  and  paths  and  to  walk  in 
them  is  to  seek  wisdom  and  light  from  him  who  is  the  Light  of  the 
world  and  the  Wisdom  of  God,  even  Jesus. 

3.  The  judgment. — The  wisdom  of  thus  submitting  to  God  and 
taking  him  into  our  hearts  and  lives  and  leaving  him  out  of  nothing 
that  we  do  is  set  forth  in  this,  that  "  God  shall  bring  every  work  into 
judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it 
be  evil."  Why  should  we  fear  the  judgment?  Yea,  rather,  why  should 
we  not  rejoice  in  judgment,  when  all  that  is  wrong  shall  be  put  right 
and  all  that  is  right  shall  be  vindicated?  Yet  because  of  this  judg- 
ment and  the  certainty  of  it,  and  its  searching  character  and  final  de- 
cisions, it  must  appear  that  there  is  no  folly  so  great  as  to  leave  God 
out  of  our  lives  and  rule  him  ou#  of  his  own  world ;  and  no  wisdom  so 
great  as  to  make  him  Father  and  Friend  as  well  as  Creator  and  Judge, 
to  enter  into  life  and  the  world  with  happy  confidence  in  his  ability 
to  guide  and  take  care  of  us,  and  to  bring  us  off  safely  through  dea-th 
and  the  judgment.     Amen.     So  may  it  be  with  you  and  me. 


XXV. 

MESSIAH'S    KINGDOM.— Malachi    iii,    1-12. 

(1)  Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  be- 
fore mie:  and  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in :  behold,  he  shall 
come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  (2)  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  com- 
ing? and  who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire, 
and  like  fullers'  soap:  (3)  And  he  shall  sit  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  sil- 
ver :  and  he  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  sil- 
ver, that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness.  (4) 
Then  shall  the  offering  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  be -pleasant  unto  the  Lord, 
as  in  the  days  of  old,  and  as  in  former  years.  (5)  And  I  will  come  near  to 
you  to  judgment;  and  I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against  the  sorcerers,  and 
against  the  adulterers,  and  against  false  swearers,  and  against  those  that 
oppress  the  hireling  in  his  wages,  the  widow,  and  the  fatherless,  and  that 
turn  aside  the  stranger  from  his  right,  and  fear  not  me,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  (6)  For  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not ;  therefore  ye  sons  of  Jacob  are 
not  consumed.  (7)  Even  from  the  days  of  your  fathers  ye  are  gone  away 
from  mine  ordinances,  and  have  not  kept  them.  Retiirn  unto  me,  and  I 
will  return  unto  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  ye  said.  Wherein  shall 
we  return?  (8)  Will  a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  me.  But  ye  say, 
Wherein  have  we  robbed  thee?  In  tithes  and  offerings.  (9)  Ye  are  cursed 
with  a  curse:  for  ye  have  robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation.  (10)  Bring  ye 
all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house, 
and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you 
the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it.  (11)  And  I  Avill  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your 
sakes,  and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground;  neither  shall 
your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time  in  the  field,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
(13)  And  all  nations  shall  call  you  blessed :  for  ye  shall  be  a  delightsome 
land,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.— Malachi  iii,  1-13. 

Malachi  was  the  last  of  that  long  line  of  prophets  who  had  fore- 
told the  coming  of  the  Just  One,  who  was  to  bring  to  this  world  both 
justice  and  mercy.  This  prophecy  was  uttered  about  four  hundred 
years  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  after  which,  until  our  Lord's  ap- 
pearance, God  spoke  not  again  to  his  people,  though  he  did  not  cease 
to  watch  over  them.  After  the  Jews  returned  from  their  long  cap- 
tivity and  had  rebuilded  their  Temple,  they  experienced  considerable 
disappointment.  Their  ancient  glory  as  a  nation  did  not  reappear. 
They  were  comparatively  a  feeble  people,  and  the  surrounding  na- 
tions and  tribes  oppressed  and  harried  them  more  or  less.  They 
carried  on  their  Temple-worship,  but  they  did  it  drearily,  hope- 


204  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM. 

lessly,  ne^^ligently.  Tlioy  withheld  from  God  many  of  the  tithes 
and  offerings  prescribed  by  the  law.  Some  were  neglectful  of  relig- 
ion altogether.  Many  had  divorced  their  Jewish  wives  and  married 
heathen  women.  There  was  a  party  of  purist  or  puritans  springing 
up,  who  afterward  blossomed  into  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  of 
our  Lord's  day,  who  were  at  the  same  time  querulous  and  full  of 
complaint  against  God ;  against  his  justice,  against  his  providence, 
and  against  his  faithfulness.  They  were  angry  that  God  did  not 
punish  the  heathen  around,  and  that  his  providential  care  seemed  to 
be  as  much  over  them  as  over  his  own  people.  Their  "  Where  is  the 
God  of  judgment?"  (ii,  17)  was  much  such  a  cry  as  is  heard  on  the 
lips  of  many  Christians  now,  and  will  be  more  and  more  character- 
istic of  the  unbelief  which  will  creep  over  and  almost  fill  the  Church 
in  the  last  days:  "Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?"  This 
prophecy  is  taken  up  largely  with  rebukes  leveled  at  the  people — 
not  the  Gentiles ;  yet  God  is  careful  to  vindicate  his  long-suffering 
and  tender  love  toward  them. 

I.— THE  MESSENGER   OF   THE   COVENANT. 

The  seventeenth  verse  of  the  second  chapter  seems  rightly  to  be 
the  first  verse  of  the  third.  It  is  the  introduction  to  what  follows  in 
the  third.  "  Ye  have  wearied  the  Lord  with  your  words.  Yet  ye 
say.  Wherein  have  we  wearied  him?  When  ye  say,  Every  one  that 
doeth  evil  is  good  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  delighteth  in 
them;  or,  WTiere  is  the  God  of  judgment?"  If  they  were  not  actu- 
ally saying  these  things  against  God,  they  were  acting  them.  They 
were  pretending  that  God  did  not  take  account  of  the  sins  of  the 
heathen,  but  continued  to  prosper  them  and  treat  them  as  though 
they  were  good  people.  They  were  fretting  that  God  did  not  arise 
and  deliver  them  out  of  all  their  troubles,  and  restore  again  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  and  make  them  a  great  people.  Had  he  not 
promised  to  visit  judgment  on  the  heathen,  and  deliver  them,  his 
own  people?  Why,  then,  does  he  not  come  and  fulfill  his  M^ord? 
"  Where  is  the  God  of  judgment  ?  "  All  this  time  they  were  profan- 
ing his  Temple,  oppressing  the  poor  and  the  stranger,  marrying 
heathen  wives,  and  withholding  their  tithes  from  the  storehouse,  and 
yet  they  were  pretending  to  be  most  holy  and  righteous.  We  won- 
der at  God's  patience  with  them,  just  as  we  wonder  oftentimes  at  his 
patience  with  us. 

1.  The  forerunner. — God  replies  to  their  complaint,  to  their 
question,  "Where  is  the  God  of  judgment?  "   He  will  tell  them  now. 


THE   MESSENGER   OF   THE   COVENANT.  205 

''Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way 
before  me."  The  God  of  judgment  was  coming,  but  in  the  mean- 
time he  would  send  his  runner  out  in  advance,  both  to  give  the 
people  warning  of  his  approach  and  to  prepare  the  way  by  the  first 
announcements  of  judgment.  This  passage  refers,  first  of  all,  to 
John  the  Baptist.  It  is  the  repetition  of  what  Isaiah  had  declared 
two  hundred  years  before  the  captivity:  ''The  voice  of  him  that 
crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God."  (Is.  xl,  3.)  That 
this  passage  from  Isaiah  referred  to  John  the  Baptist  is  evident  from 
Matt,  iii,  1 ;  Luke  i,  76.  John  the  Baptist  was  the  messenger  of  Je- 
hovah, sent  before  the  appearing  of  himself  in  the  person  of  Christ. 
The  change  in  the  wording  when  quoted  by  the  evangelist  makes  it 
appear  as  though  the  words  were  spoken  by  God  the  Father  to  the 
Son  when  sending  him  into  the  world  as  Messiah  and  Redeemer. 
That  it  has  a  secondary  meaning,  a  reference  to  Elijah,  is  also  very 
certain.  Malachi  refers  this  saying  to  Elijah  :  "  Behold,  I  will  send 
you  Elijah  the  prophet  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dread- 
ful day  of  the  Lord."  (iv,  5.)  It  was  of  Elijah  that  the  Jews  un- 
derstood this  prophecy.  When  thej'  raised  this  point  with  our  Lord 
his  reply  was  that  the  prophecy  referred  to  John ;  but,  "  If  ye  will 
receive  it,  this  is  Elias  which  was  for  to  come."  (Matt,  xi,  14.) 
And  yet  the  coming  and  ministry  of  John  did  not  exhaust  the  proph- 
ecy. For  our  Lord  says  on  another  occasion :  "  Elias  truly  shall 
first  come  and  restore  all  things."  (Matt,  xvii,  11.)  This  points 
to  the  second  advent.  John  the  Baptist  was  the  messenger  sent 
"in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias,"  as  the  forerunner  of  the  first 
advent ;  but  Elijah  himself  will  come  as  the  great  messenger  and 
forerunner  of  Messiah's  second  advent. 

2.  Tlie  advent  of  Messiah. — Having  spoken  of  the  forerunning 
messenger,  the  prophet  next,  even  in  the  same  breath,  speaks  of 
the  great  Messenger  of  Jehovah,  even  the  Messenger  of  the  Cove- 
nant. "  And  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his 
Temple."  Here  "the  Lord,"  or  "Jehovah,"  is  identified  with  the 
Messenger  of  the  Covenant.  This  clearly  points  to  the  incarnation 
of  Jesus,  or  the  Eternal  Word.  This  Messenger  of  the  Covenant  is 
no  stranger  to  us.  He  has  appeared  again  and  again  during  the 
course  of  the  development  of  the  theocracy  and  the  initial  kingdom. 
As  the  "Angel  of  God,"  the  "Angel  of  Jehovah,"  the  "Angel  of  his 
Presence,"  we  recognize  him  who  appeared  to  Abraham,  to  Moses, 
to  Joshua,  to  Gideon,  and  to  Manoah.  But  the  reference  here  is 
not  to  the  coming  of  an  Angel  (not  even  the  Angel  of  the  Covenani 


206  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM. 

as  of  old  he  appeared),  but  to  the  great  Messenger  of  the  Covenant, 
even  the  Incarnate  Word  of  God,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Messiah  and 
Eedeemer  of  the  world.  Those  Old  Testament  appearances  were 
indeed  all  adumbrations  of  the  Incarnation,  and  clearly  pointed  and 
led  up  to  it.  But  when  Jesus  came  in  the  flesh,  then  all  was  ful- 
filled. By  the  term  Covenant  is  understood  the  New  Covenant,  or 
the  Gospel  dispensation.  Just  as  Moses  was  the  mediator  of  the  Old 
Covenant,  so  now  Jesus  is  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant.  (Heb. 
ix,  15.)  "  The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by 
Jesus  Christ."  The  Jews  were  always  looking  backward  for  their 
glory,  but  God  was  pointing  them  forward.  The  glory  of  the  second 
Temple,  which  God  declared  should  be  greater  than  that  of  the  first, 
was  to  stand  not  in  outward  splendor,  but  in  the  fact  that  Jehovah 
himself  should  come  to  it  and  administer  grace  and  truth  to  the 
people  through  himself.  That  Jesus  did  so  come  to  the  Temple  was 
the  initial  fulfillment  of  this  promise.  He  came  as  an  infant,  when 
his  mother  first  presented  him  in  the  Temple,  and  was  recognized 
and  hailed  by  good  old  Simeon  and  the  prophetess  Anna ;  he  came 
again  to  the  Temple  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  and  disputed 
with  the  doctors,  and  first  began  to  ''be  about  his  Father's  busi- 
ness " ;  later  on  in  the  beginning  of  his  public  ministry  he  came  as  a 
purifier  of  the  Temple,  as  we  shall  see  further ;  and  subsequently  on 
many  occasions  he  resorted  to  the  Temple  and  there  taught  the 
people  and  glorified  it  with  his  presence. 

3.  The  suddenness  of  his  coming. — When  the  whole  people 
were  asleep  in  their  dead  orthodoxy,  studying  the  law  and  the 
prophets  indeed  with  microscopic  minuteness,  but  blind  and  deaf  to 
all  spiritual  significance  in  them,  Jesus  was  born,  as  it  were  sud- 
denly. Some  pious  but  humble  shepherds  were  ready  for  his  com- 
ing; a  few  wise  men  from  the  East — Gentiles — who  had  seen  ''his 
star,"  came  to  greet  him,  but  the  rest  of  the  nation  were  asleep  and 
dead.  Then,  when  he  suddenly  appeared  on  the  banks  of  the  Jor- 
dan, the  people  were  still  unprepared ;  and  so,  when  he  actually  ap- 
peared in  the  Temple,  they  asked:  "Who  art  thou?"  and  "By  what 
authority  doest  thou  these  things?"  (Matt,  xxi,  23  ;  John  ii,  18.)  Sud- 
denly as  Jesus  burst  upon  the  nation  and  appeared  in  the  Temple,  it 
was  not  more  sudden  than  when  he  "  shall  appear  the  second  time 
without  sin  unto  salvation."  (Heb.  ix,  28.)  "As  the  lightning  cometh 
out  of  the  east,  and  shineth  even  unto  the  west ;  so  shall  also  the  com- 
ing of  the  Son  of  man  be."  (Matt,  xxiv,  27.)  And  yet  the  suddenness 
of  his  appearing  was  not  because  there  had  not  been  warning.  From 
the  time  of  the  announcement  of  his  advent  to  the  Virgin  Mary  and 


THE   PURIFIER  AND   JUDGE.  207 

his  subsequent  birth  in  Bethlehem,  thirty  years  had  passed.  If  they 
had  been  awake  the  people  would  not  have  been  taken  unawares. 
Even  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist  for  six  months,  announcing 
the  appearance  of  Messiah,  did  not  wake  the  nation  out  of  sleep.  It 
will  be  so  in  the  second  advent.  There  will  be  plenty  of  warning, 
but  the  people  will  be  asleep,  and  his  coming  will  burst  upon  them 
as  lightning  flashing  out  of  the  sky.  There  is  also  a  touch  of  satire 
in  this  passage.  ''The  Lord  whom  ye  seek  .  .  .  whom  ye  delight 
in."  You  say  you  are  seeking  him;  you  say  you  delight  in  him; 
but  all  this  is  pretense — mere  formal  declarations  of  orthodoxy. 
You  are  seeking  and  delighting  not  in  the  spiritual  reign  of  Mes- 
siah ;  you  are  not  longing  for  him  to  come  with  spiritual  power  to 
purify  you  from  your  sins ;  you  are  simply  longing  for  temporal  and 
material  splendor  and  carnal  glory.  Therefore  when  he  comes,  a 
real  Messiah  arising  on  your  national  horizon  with  healing  in  his 
wings,  you  will  not  receive  him,  in  spite  of  all  your  professions  of 
love  and  desire. 

II.— THE  PURIFIER  AND   JUDGE. 

You  pretend  to  seek  him  and  that  you  delight  in  him ;  and  you 
are  saying:  "Where  is  the  God  of  judgment?,"  as  though  you  were 
doubting  the  promise  of  God  and  challenging  him  to  fulfill  his  word. 
Well,  ''He  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  who  may  abide 
the  day  of  his  coming?"  How  utterly  unprepared  the  people  were 
for  his  coming;  how  they  flinched  from  his  teaching;  how  they 
cowered  under  the  judgments  delivered  in  his  speech ;  how  they 
shrunk  from  his  scathing  rebukes  of  their  hypocrisy  and  dead  for- 
malism ! 

1.  The  refiner  and  fuller.— The  object  of  Messiah's  coming, 
the  end  of  all  the  promises  of  God,  is  not  earthly  glory,  but  spiritual 
purity  and  personal  righteousness.  Jesus  comes  not  to  glorify  hu- 
man nature,  but  to  save  sinners.  That  is,  the  glorification  of  human 
nature  will  be  accomplished  through  and  by  means  of  its  purifica- 
tion. Therefore,  before  anything  else  is  done,  he  must  do  the  work 
of  a  refiner  and  a  fuller.  Sin  had  alloyed  our  gold  by  defiling  our 
natures.  With  the  fire  of  his  word  burning  in  the  power  of  his 
Spirit  he  will  search  out  the  dross  of  our  sin,  and  with  the  cleansing 
power  of  that  word  he  will  cleanse  us.  (I.  Pet.  i,  7;  Eph.  v,  26.) 
When  we  are  professing  our  desire  for  salvation  and  our  delight  in 
the  Lord,  are  we  ready  to  accept  this  refining  and  purifying  work  of 
his  grace  ?     Or  do  we,  as  the  Jews  did  when  he  entered  the  Temple 


208  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM. 

and  drove  out  the  money-changers  and  those  that  sold  doves,  resent 
his  administration  of  righteousness  ?  And  yet  this  is  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  to  "  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver, 
that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness."  Ex- 
ternal worship  is  hateful  to  God  unless  there  be  internal  righteousness 
to  accompany  it.  When  the  life  is  right  with  God  through  righteous- 
ness and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  then  our  service  is  a  delight  to  him. 
"  Then  shall  the  offering  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  be  pleasant  unto  the 
Lord,  as  in  the  days  of  old,  and  as  in  former  years."  We  Christians 
need  as  much  to  learn  this  lesson,  by  taking  it  to  heart,  as  the  Jews 
in  the  days  of  Malachi  did. 

2.  The  Judge. — Not  only  does  he  come  to  purify  and  cleanse  us 
from  our  sins,  but  also  to  be  a  swift  witness  against  them,  and  to  visit 
judgment  upon  those  who  deliberately  and  willfully  practice  them. 
*'  I  will  come  near  to  you  to  judgment ;  and  I  will  be  a  swift  witness 
against  the  sorcerers,  and  against  the  adulterers,  and  against  false 
swearers,  and  against  those  that  oppress  the  hireling  in  his  wages,  the 
widow,  and  the  fatherless,  and  that  turn  aside  the  stranger  from  his 
right,  and  fear  not  me,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Jesus  indeed  came 
with  grace  and  truth,  with  forgiveness  for  all,  with  the  new  birth 
and  justification  and  sanctification  for  all.  But  mercy  shall  not  re- 
joice against  judgment.  Men  who  persist  in  these  sins  shall  be  held 
accountable  by  the  Lord.  His  administration  of  grace  and  judgment 
go  side  by  side.  '^  Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not 
executed  speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set 
in  them  to  do  evil.  Though  a  sinner  do  evil  a  hundred  times,  and 
his  days  be  prolonged,  yet  surely  I  know  that  it  shall  be  well  with 
them  that  fear  God,  which  fear  before  him :  but  it  shall  not  be  well 
with  the  wicked,  neither  shall  he  prolong  his  days,  which  are  as  a 
shadow;  because  he  feareth  not  before  God."  (Eecles.  viii,  11-13.) 
Here  we  have  an  intimation  of  the  future  judgment,  which  will  take 
place  at  the  second  advent  of  the  Lord,  that  "great  and  dreadful  day 
of  the  Lord"  foreshadowed  by  Malachi,  as  it  was  also  by  Isaiah. 
(Is.  Ixi,  2.)  Let  not,  therefore,  the  righteous  be  troubled  because  the 
wicked  seem  to  prolong  their  days  and  go  scot-free  of  punishment. 
Their  day  is  coming.  On  the  other  hand,  let  not  the  wicked  boast 
their  immunity  from  punishment  for  all  their  evil  which  they  are 
doing,  even  though  they  be  numbered  among  the  people  of  God. 
The  God  of  judgment  is  present  in  the  world,  though  he  bear  long 
with  the  wicked.  Let  the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  the  wage-earner 
and  the  stranger,  never  suppose  that  God  has  forgotten  them.  Nay, 
he  has  taken  them  under  his  special  protection,  and  woe  to  the  men. 


AN  APPEAL   AND   A   PROMISE.  209 

be  they  professed  Christians  or  open  sinners,  who  deal  treaeherouslr 
and  cruelly  with  them !  They  are  God's  wards,  and  he  knoweth  how 
to  set  their  wrongs  right  and  requite  the  evil  done  to  them  by  their 
oppressors. 

3.  Messiah's  faithfulness. — The  people  had  complained  that 
God  had  been  untrue  to  his  covenant  promises ;  but  he  shows  them 
that  he  had  been  true  to  his  word.  In  hastily  punishing  their  sins, 
they  would  long  ago  have  been  consumed  by  his  wrath.  His  faith- 
fulness is  seen  in  that  for  centuries  he  had  borne  with  their  sins, 
and  withheld  his  hand  in  judgment,  which  would  have  utterly  de- 
stroyed them.  It  is  because  "I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not;  there- 
fore ye  sons  of  Jacob  are  not  consumed."  ''The  Lord  is  not  slack 
concerning  his  promise"  (either  of  mercy  or  judgment),  ''as  some 
men  count  slackness ;  but  is  long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come'  to  repentance." 
(Mai.  iii,  6;  IL  Pet.  iii,  9.) 

III.— AN  APPEAL  AND   A  PROMISE. 

These  people  were  blind  to  their  sins,  as  we  are  to  ours,  and  dis- 
posed to  charge  God  with  unfaithfulness.  He  sets  them  right  on  this 
point.  "Even  from  the  days  of  youi'  fathers,  ye  have  gone  away  from 
mine  ordinances,  and  have  not  kept  them."  Yet  he  had  not  utterly 
cut  them  off,  and  was  even  now  ready  to  bless  them. 

1.  "Return  unto  me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you." — This  is 
God's  proposition  to  them.  This  has  always  been  God's  proposition 
to  the  backslider.  "  If  my  people,  which  are  called  by  my  name,  shall 
humble  themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek  my  face,  and  turn  from  their 
wicked  ways ;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their 
sin,  and  will  heal  their  land."  (II.  Cliron.  vii,  14.)  "Go  and  pro- 
claim these  words  toward  the  north,  and  say.  Return,  thou  back- 
sliding Israel,  saith  the  Lord ;  and  I  will  not  cause  mine  anger  to 
fall  upon  you :  for  I  am  merciful,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not  keep 
anger  forever.  Only  acknowledge  thine  iniquity,  .  .  .  and  I  will 
heal  thy  backslidings."  (Jer.  iii,  12,  13,  22.)  So  now  he  says  in 
the  same  spirit:  "Return  unto  me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you." 
They  answer  querulously:  "Wherein  shall  we  return?"  as  though 
they  had  done  no  evil  and  there  was  nothing  to  repent  of.  How 
blind  we  are  to  our  sins!  God  reminds  them  of  two  things:  first, 
that  they  had  robbed  him,  even  the  whole  nation ;  and  secondly, 
that  the:  curse  of  barrenness  upon  their  land,  their  poverty  and  their 
oppression  from  the  surrounding  nations,  was  the  direct  result  of 


210  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM. 

their  sins.  "  Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse ;  for  ye  have  robbed  me, 
even  this  whole  nation."  They  return  with  their  insolent  answer: 
'^Wherein  have  we  robbed  thee?"  God  replied:  ''In  tithes  and 
offerings."  They  had  withheld  the  tithes  and  offerings  which  God 
had  prescribed  for  the  service  of  the  Temple  and  the  maintenance 
of  the  priests.  The  Temple  was  empty,  the  storehouses  in  the  Tem- 
ple were  bare.  Through  covetousness  and  greed  they  had  with- 
held their  gifts  and  offerings,  both  those  which  were  prescribed  by 
law  and  those  which  were  left  to  their  ''free  will."  Even  so  have 
we  been  selfish,  and  though  we  have  resorted  to  the  house  of  God 
on  the  Sabbath-days,  we  have  devoted  our  time  to  self-seeking,  gain, 
and  pleasure.  We  have  left  the  work  and  service  of  God  undone. 
How  few  our  prayers ;  how  little  we  have  attended  to  the  Master's 
business ;  how  huge  the  debts  remaining  on  the  churches  which  we 
have  built  to  gratify  our  pride  j  how  empty  the  treasuries  of  the 
missionary  societies ;  how  few  laborers  in  the  field  all  white  for  the 
harvest — and  yet  how  abundant  our  time,  our  opportunities,  and 
even  our  wealth  !  "We  are  verily  more  guilty  than  Israel  of  old ;  for 
while  God  has  blessed  us  in  basket  and  store,  and  caused  our  fields 
to  bring  forth  plentifully  and  our  business  to  prosper  in  our  hands, 
we  have  consumed  it  all,  or  the  most  of  it,  on  our  own  selves,  and 
given  the  Lord  only  his  small  portion. 

2.  An  exhortation. — Yet  the  Lord  is  merciful.  He  will  not 
swiftly  cut  us  off,  but  make  a  place  for  our  repentance.  He  chal- 
lenges us  to  prove  him,  and  to  prove  him  now,  by  returning  to  duty 
and  to  service.  "Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that 
there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it."     (Mai.  iii,  10.) 

3.  Great  promises. — Not  only  will  the  Lord  pour  out  blessings 
from  on  high,  but  he  Avill  "rebuke  the  devourer,"  take  away  the 
blight  from  their  fields,  cause  the  locusts  and  other  plagues  to  pass 
away  from  the  fields  and  vineyards.  These  were  the  curses  from 
which  Israel  was  suffering.  We  are  suffering  from  all  sorts  of 
blights  now, — scepticism,  contentions,  controversies,  and  strifes 
within  the  Church,  and  poverty  of  spiritual  results  from  our  ministry 
of  the  Word.  Instead  of  the  record  of  revivals,  the  grateful  reports 
of  glad  and  successful  missionaries,  thronged  congregations  of  happy 
worshipers,  we  have  columns  of  contentions,  strifes,  bitternesses,  the 
wail  of  pastors  over  small  eoiigregations,  and  few  conversions ;  the 
almost  despairing  appeals  from  the  mission-fields  for  more  workers 


AN   APPEAL  AND   A   PROMISE.  211 

to  help  and  more  money  to  carry  on  the  work.  God  promises  that 
he  will  change  all  this  if  we  will  but  retm-n  unto  him.  More- 
over, he  will  cause  the  Church  of  Christ  so  to  shine  in  beauty  and 
blossom  out  in  prosperity  that  the  outside  world  shall  call  her 
blessed,  and  "ye  shall  be  a  delightsome  land,  saith  the  Lord." 
These  were  promises,  it  is  true,  spoken  to  Israel  of  old,  but  they  are 
promises  spoken  to  us  as  well.  The  temporal  blessings  promised  to 
Israel  are  but  the  seeds  which  contain  spiritual  blessings  to  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Their  sins  have  a  counterpart  in  ours.  Their 
robberies  in  withholding  tithes  and  offerings  are  repeated  in  our  lack 
of  consecration,  worldliness,  and  selfishness.  Is  it  not  high  time 
that  we  should  cease  our  complaints  against  God,  and  return  to  a 
whole-hearted  and  loving  service,  and  prove  his  faithfulness  and 
unchangeableness  in  respect  of  all  his  covenant  promises? 


XXVI. 

REVIEW   OR   OPTIONAL   LESSON. 


XXVII. 

PAUL  CALLED  TO   EUROPE.— Acts  xvi,  6-15. 

(6)  Now  when  they  had  gone  throughout  Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Gal- 
atia,  and  were  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  word  in  Asia, 
(7)  After  they  were  come  to  Mysia,  they  assayed  to  go  into  Bithynia :  but 
the  Spirit  suffered  them  not.  (8)  And  they  passing  by  Mysia  came  down 
to  Troas.  (9)  And  a  vision  appeared  to  Paul  in  the  night ;  There  stood  a 
man  of  Macedonia,  and  prayed  him,  saying,  Come  over  into  Macedonia, 
and  help  us.  (10)  And  after  he  had  seen  the  vision,  immediately  we  endeav- 
oured to  go  into  Macedonia,  assuredly  gathering  that  the  Lord  had  called 
us  for  to  preach  the  gospel  unto  them.  (11)  Therefore  loosing  from  Troas, 
we  came  with  a  straight  course  to  Samothracia,  and  the  next  day  to  Neapo- 
lis;  (12)  And  from  thence  to  Philippi,  which  is  the  chief  city  of  that  part 
of  Macedonia,  and  a  colony :  and  we  were  in  that  city  abiding  certain  days. 
(13)  And  on  the  sabbath  we  went  out  of  the  city  by  a  river  side,  where 
prayer  was  wont  to  be  made ;  and  we  sat  down,  and  spake  unto  the  women 
which  resorted  thither.  (14)  And  a  certain  woman  named  Lydia,  a  seller 
of  purple,  of  the  city  of  Thyatira,  which  worshipped  God,  heard  us :  whose 
heart  the  Lord  opened,  that  she  attended  unto  the  things  which  were 
spoken  of  Paul.  (15)  And  when  she  was  baptized,  and  her  household,  she 
besought  us,  saying,  If  ye  have  judged  me  to  be  faithful  to  the  Lord,  come 
into  my  house,  and  abide  there.    And  she  constrained  us.— Acts  xvi,  6-15. 

After  having  delivered  the  decree  to  the  church  at  Antioch  (xv), 
Silas  and  Judas,  both  endowed  with  the  prophetic  gift,  remained  for 
a  while  with  the  church.  In  the  meantime  Paul  conceived  the  plan 
of  revisiting  all  the  churches  which  he  and  Barnabas  had  gathered, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  their  progress  and  encouraging  them 
in  the  new  way.  The  proposition  met  with  the  approbation  of 
Barnabas  ;  but  Paul,  for  some  reason,  objected  to  the  taking  of  Mark 
with  them.  This  was  £tn  occasion  of  a  hot  dispute  between  these 
two  great  friends,  and  led  to  their  separation.  Paul  taking  Silas, 
and  Barnabas,  Mark,  they  started  in  different  directions,  both  being 
recommended  to  the  grace  of  God  by  the  church.  Paul  and  Silas 
first  went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  confirming  the  churches. 
Thence  they  came  to  Derbe  and  Lystra,  where  Paul  found  his  "  be- 
loved son"  Timothy,  and  with  this  addition  to  his  company  con- 
tinued his  visitation  work  among  the  churches,  in  every  one  of  which 
he  also  read  the  important  decree  of  the  apostles  and  elders  of  the 
church  at  Jerusalem  which  had  been  sent  to  Antioch.     The  result 


2U  PAUL  CALLED  TO  EUROPE. 

of  the  visitation  was  that  ''so  were  the  churches  established  in  the 
faith,  and  increased  in  number  daily."     (v.  5.) 

I.— AN  UNSEEN   COMPANION. 

The  course  of  the  Apostle  and  his  companions  was  in  general  a 
western  one,  though  we  have  no  data  upon  which  to  construct  a 
map  of  their  visitation  through  Galatia  except  as  far  as  Derbe  and 
Lystra.  It  seems  to  have  been  their  intention  to  have  visited  the 
large  cities  of  Asia  Minor ;  but  they  were  forbidden  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  (v.  6. )  The  first  question  of  importance  that  meets  us  in 
this  our  present  study  is  the  one  raised  by  the  statement  made  in 
the  sixth  and  repeated  in  the  seventh  verses ;  namely,  that  they 
''were  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  Word  in  Asia,"  and 
were  not  "suffered  by  the  Spirit  to  go  into  Bithynia."  When  Jesus 
gave  the  great  commission  to  his  disciples,  he  said  to  them :  "Lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Now  of  course 
this  must  have  been  a  promise  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  revised  version  translates  the  seventh  verse  thus  :  "  The  Spirit 
of  Jesus  suffered  them  not."  This  undoubtedly  is  the  correct  render- 
ing. Taken  together,  we  see  the  identification  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus 
and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the  Spirit 
of  Jesus,  is  the  most  precious  gift  of  Christ  to  the  Church.  What 
strikes  us  in  reading  the  story  of  the  early  labors  of  the  apostles  is 
that  that  presence  was  so  real  and  familiar.  They  knew  the  Holy 
Ghost,  not  as  a  doctrine,  but  as  a  person  present  with  them.  They 
consulted  him  and  were  instructed,  guided,  led,  and  directed  by  him, 
as  though  the  Master  himself  had  been  present  with  them.  Though 
not  visibly  present,  he  was  actually  present.  The  expression,  "It 
seemed  good  unto  us  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  takes  us  into  a  council- 
chamber  where  the  Holy  Ghost  is  present  as  any  other  person  might 
be,  and  whose  voice  was  made  known  and  taken  into  chief  account. 
This  Holy  Spirit  was  the  companion  of  Paul  and  Silas  on  that  jour- 
ney. We  do  not  know  how  the  Holy  Spirit  made  known  to  these 
apostles  his  will  in  the  matter  of  the  route  they  should  take,  but  it 
is  certain  that  the  communication  was  definite  and  particularly  un- 
derstood. First,  they  were  forbidden  to  go  into  the  large  cities  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  then  they  were  not  suffered  to  go  into  the  regions 
of  Bithynia.  I  was  once  present  in  a  company  of  Christians  where 
a  lady,  who  seemed  to  have  much  fellowship  with  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus,  was  asked  how  she  knew  "the  voice  of  the  Spirit."  Her 
answer  was  by  another  question :   "  How  do  you  know  your  hus- 


AN  UNSEEN  COMPANION.  215 

band's  step  or  your  child's  cry  from  the  step  and  the  cry  of  all 
others?  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  know  the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  but  it 
is  as  real  to  me  as  the  voice  of  any  other  person  I  know."  We  are 
directed  so  often  to  "walk  in  the  Spirit/'  to  "live  in  the  Spirit/'  to 
"  be  led  by  the  Spirit/'  that  it  certainly  is  implied  that  there  must 
be  both  a  personal  knowledge  and  a  power  of  recognition  of  the 
Spirit.  If  we  know  the  Spirit  and  are  living  in  communion  with  him, 
we  shall  be  able  to  discern  his  voice  and  be  guided  by  his  direction. 
How  simple  life  would  be  if  we  had  such  fellowship  with  the  Spirit 
that,  when  we  were  going  wrong,  or  directing  our  feet  in  right  paths 
though  at  wrong  times,  the  Spirit  would  just  interpose  and  say  to 
lis,  "  No,  not  that  way ;  not  that  course ;  such  is  not  wise  or  the 
will  of  God  for  you  at  this  time."  The  impression  one  gets  from 
this  narrative  is  that  these  men  were  allowed  to  choose  their  own 
course  and  determine  their  own  routes  and  places  of  labor  until  they 
crossed  the  manifest  will  of  God  in  some  way ;  then  the  Spirit  inter- 
posed definitely  and  gave  then  specific  direction.  This,  I  fancy,  is 
the  true  course  of  Christian  life.  Live  and  act  naturally  on  the  lines 
that  your  own  wishes  and  Christian  judgment  suggest.  If  at  any 
time  your  judgment  is  in  error,  or  God  has  a  special  course  for  you 
to  pursue,  the  Spirit  will  speak,  so  that  there  need  be  no  mistake. 
But  if  any  one  will  be  thus  guided  by  the  Spirit  he  must  be  obedient 
and  mind  the  Spirit,  ready  to  give  up  any  cherished  plan  and  change 
the  whole  course  of  action  in  obedience  to  the  heavenly  word.  May 
it  not  be  that  our  unwillingness  to  go  God's  way  accounts  to  a  large 
degree  for  our  loss  of  the  Spirit's  admonition  and  guidance  ?  Good 
judgment  and  "sanctified  common  sense"  are  most  invaluable  pos- 
sessions ;  but  no  natural  gifts,  however  much  improved,  cultivated, 
and  sanctified,  can  possibly  take  the  place  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

1.  Two  closed  doors. — The  Apostle,  according  to  the  natural 
bent  of  his  mind  and  habit,  thus  far  had  evidently  intended  to  visit 
some  of  the  larger  cities  of  Asia,  and  so  determined.  Suddenly  he 
found  the  door  to  these  cities  shut  in  his  face,  if  not  rudely,  at  least 
effectually.  "  He  was  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the 
Word  in  Asia."  Then  he  turned  to  upper  Asia  (Minor),  or  Bithynia, 
and  proposed  entering  that  field ;  but  he  found  this  door  closed  also, 
for  "  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  suffered  them  not "  to  enter  there.  Why 
God  interposed  to  prevent  the  apostolic  missionaries  from  entering 
these  fields  we,  of  course,  do  not  know.  It  certainly  was  not  be- 
cause he  did  not  wish  Asia  and  Bithynia  to  have  the  Word.  It  was 
simply,  we  must  suppose,  that  the  "time  and  the  season"  were  not 
propitious  then.     There  is  a  time  and  a  season  for  all  things,  for 


216  PAUL   CALLED   TO   EUROPE. 

the  Gospel  to  be  iireaebed  in  certain  countries,  and  to  individuals. 
Happy  the  country,  happy  the  man  or  woman,  who,  when  the  time 
comes  for  them  to  hear  the  word  of  God,  are  prompt  to  respond  to 
it.  There  was  some  divine,  all-wise  reason  for  postponing  the  fur- 
ther work  in  Asia  and  beginning  the  work  in  Europe,  as  we  shall 
presently  see. 

2.  A  call  for  help. — While  in  the  dilemma  of  waiting  to  find  out 
what  to  do  and  where  to  go  they  had  come  as  far  as  Troas,  which, 
by  consulting  the  map,  you  will  see  is  on  the  northwestern  coast  of 
the  ^gean  Sea.  We  have  not  time  to  linger  over  this  famous  city, 
presuming  most  of  our  readers  know  well  its  history.  While  tarry- 
ing here  "a  vision  appeared  to  Paul  in  the  night;  There  stood  a 
man  of  Macedonia,  and  prayed  him,  saying.  Come  over  into  Macedo- 
nia, and  help  us."  Here,  then,  was  the  reason  why  they  were  not 
allowed  to  go  into  Asia  or  Bithynia.  God's  purpose  was  that  the 
Gospel  should  now  enter  Europe  by  way  of  Macedonia.  It  is  useless 
to  speculate  on  the  nature  of  this  vision.  It  was  not  a  dream,  though 
it  was  in  the  night-time.  It  was  probably  not  an  actual  presence 
(like  the  angel's  before  Peter  on  the  housetop),  but  an  appearance 
which  took  the  shape  and  dress  of  a  '^man  from  Macedonia."  Paul 
was  probably  familiar  with  the  appearance,  the  dress,  and  speech 
of  these  people,  from  having  seen  or  met  them  in  his  own  important 
commercial  city.  At  any  rate,  there  was  the  vision,  the  voice,  and 
the  call  for  help.  It  was  God-sent,  and  was  not  to  be  gainsaid. 
Why  the  Holy  Spirit  did  not  directly  intimate  the  will  of  God  con- 
cerning Europe,  as  he  had  done  concerning  Asia,  we  do  not  know. 
God  does  not  work  in  stereotyped  lines.  The  spiritual  world  is  as 
full  of  variety  as  is  the  natural  world.  By  the  Spirit,  by  an  angel, 
by  a  vision,  by  a  dream,  God  communicates  with  his  people  if  he 
has  special  need,  as  in  these  early  times — in  the  beginning  of  things 
— he  did.  When  William  Carey  sat  cobbling  boots  and  studying  the 
map  of  the  world,  he  had  a  vision  of  heathen  millions  standing  be- 
fore him  and  saying,  ''Come  over  and  help  us."  So  if  we  have  our 
heart  toward  the  Lord,  and  our  eyes  toward  the  world  of  sinners  for 
whom  Christ  died,  we  shall  not  lack  for  visions  of  men  calling  us 
over  to  help  them.  A  traveler  once  passed  by  a  wretched  man 
sitting  by  the  wayside,  with  emaciated  face  and  limbs,  with  a  few 
rags  gathered  about  him,  forlorn,  sick,  and  starving.  Turning,  he 
asked  the  poor  creature  why  he  did  not  solicit  an  alms.  "  Sir,"  said 
the  poor  man,  "  if  the  misery  your  own  eyes  can  see  has  not  solicited 
your  charity,  no  words  of  mine  could  avail  to  move  your  heart."  So 
it  is  all  about  us.     We  need  not  special  visions  or  dream  voices. 


AN   UNSEEN  COMPANION.  217 

Every  drunkard,  every  young  man  running  down  the  course  of  this 
world,  all  the  poverty,  sin,  and  crime  in  the  world,  and  exposed  to 
our  eyes  at  every  turn,  every  unconverted  child  in  our  households, 
are  men  from  Macedonia  saying,  ''Come  over  and  help  us."  It  will 
be  noticed  that  it  was  not  the  actual  Macedonians,  nor  an  actual 
representative  of  the  Macedonians,  who  stood  before  Paul,  but  only  a 
vision.  So  the  needy  people  in  the  world  do  not  themselves  present 
themselves  before  us  or  send  delegations,  but  God  casts  a  shadow  of 
their  need,  a  vision  of  their  ignorance,  sin,  and  weakness  before  our 
mind's  eye,  and  himself  calls  us  to  special  fields  of  work.  It  is  not 
lack  of  visions,  but  lack  of  obedience  to  visions,  from  which  we 
suffer.  Let  every  Christian  look  about  him,  and  he  will  see  a  vision 
and  hear  a  voice  saying,  ''Come  over  and  help  us." 

3.  An  open  door. — The  Spirit  had  closed  two  doors  in  the  faces 
of  this  missionary  company,  but  now  he  had  opened  another,  wide 
and  effectual,  before  them.  When  God  shuts  one  door  we  may  bo 
sure  that  he  will  presently  open  another.  We  might  almost  find  our 
way  through  the  world  by  taking  note  of  the  open  and  shut  doors  on 
our  path,  not  pushing  at  closed  doors,  and  not  hesitating  to  enter  in 
at  open  ones.  The  leadings  of  the  Spirit  are  not  intended  to  take 
away  from  us  the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  deliberation  and 
judgment.  Taking  all  things  together — the  prohibitions  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  appearance  of  this  vision,  the  fact  of  which  Paul 
seems  to  have  laid  before  his  companions — they  discussed  the  whole 
matter,  and  "gathered  assuredly"  that  the  Lord  had  called  them  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Macedonians.  God's  voices  and  visions 
need  to  be  pondered  and  carefully  interpreted.  The  walk  of  the 
Spirit  is  not  a  mechanical  one.  The  Spirit  hints  and  intimates  :  it 
is  for  us  to  listen  and  carefully  to  consider.  By  training  we  learn. 
An  experienced  doctor  can  detect  the  presence  of  disease  by  the  feel 
of  the  pulse  or  the  beat  of  the  heart  when  a  layman  would  know 
nothing,  either  right  or  wrong.  So  the  Christian  who  is  trained  in 
the  ways  of  the  Spirit  may  always  "gather  assuredly  "  what  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  is.  Paul  was  a  spiritually-minded  man,  and  probably 
had  some  faint  conception  of  the  ultimate  mission  of  the  Gospel ; 
yet  it  had  never  as  yet  entered  into  his  head  or  heart  to  visit  Europe. 
To  him  Asia  was  the  whole  world.  But  now  he  saw  the  circumfer- 
ence of  God's  plan  widening,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  heard  this  eaU. 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Macedonians  with  great  joy.  There  are 
some  people  who  tell  us  that  we  had  better  evangelize  our  own 
country  before  turning  our  attention  to  foreign  lands.  Here  is  an 
answer  to  this  position.     God  himself  shut  up  the  doors  at  home  in 


218  PAUL  CALLED   TO  EUROPE. 

order  that  these  missionaries  might  go  abroad.  For  the  time  being 
the  home  field  was  passed  over  in  order  that  the  Gospel  might  bo 
preached  abroad.  Great  unevangelized  districts  in  Asia  and  Bithynia 
were  also  passed  over  in  order  that  a  beginning  might  be  made  in 
Europe. 

4.  A  straight  course. — They  lost  no  time  after  the  word  came 
to  them.  "Immediately  we  endeavored  to  go  into  Macedonia." 
Paul  was  a  man  who  "immediately"  obeyed  "heavenly  visions." 
As  soon  as  he  knew  the  will  of  God  he  set  about  doings  it.  He  did 
not  postpone  his  obedience  to  more  convenient  seasons,  but  imme- 
diately laid  his  hand  to  the  work.  Having  found  a  vessel  which 
would  take  them  to  Neapolis,  the  seaport  of  Philippi,  they  sailed  by 
a  "  straight  course  "  to  that  city,  passing  on  the  way  the  island  of 
Samothracia.  The  "  straight  course  "  here  is  a  nautical  term,  but  it 
may  be  used  in  a  higher  sense  also.  There  are  those  who  seem 
always  to  take  a  tortuous  course ;  but  Paul  was  a  man  not  only  of 
quick  decision  and  immediate  action,  but  whenever  he  could  he 
sailed  a  "  straight  course  "  to  his  destined  harbor.  He  went  at  his 
work  with  a  will,  and  straight  at  it.  Whilst  he  had  infinite  tact,  he 
used  it  always  to  lead  him  in  the  most  direct  line  to  his  goal.  The 
longest  way  round  is  sometimes  the  shortest  way  home,  but  it  is  not 
usually  so ;  and  life  may  be  increased  a  good  half,  and  a  man's  power 
multiplied,  by  taking  "  straight  courses  "  whenever  it  is  possible. 

5.  At  Philippi. — Philippi  was  "the  chief  city"  in  that  part  of 
Macedonia,  and  a  Roman  colony.  That  is,  it  was  one  of  those 
specially  favored  settlements  which  was  considered  to  be,  though 
removed  by  hundi'eds  of  miles,  a  part  of  the  city  of  Rome.  In  its 
government  and  privileges  it  was  a  miniature  Rome.  It  was  the 
first  city  or  gateway  into  Europe  through  which  the  Gospel  found  its 
way  into  the  Western  world.  It  was  in  this  neighborhood  that  the 
great  battle  between  the  imperialists  and  the  republicans  of  Rome 
was  fought,  which  turned  Rome  from  a  republic  into  an  empire. 
Here  a  mightier  battle  was  fought,  which,  though  it  made  no  such 
stir  in  the  political  world,  yet  changed  the  whole  moral  condition 
and  spiritual  destiny  of  Europe.  Arriving  at  Philippi,  they  seemed 
quietly  to  abide  for  a  few  days,  no  doubt  looking  about  them,  and 
taking  their  bearings,  in  order  to  determine  how  best  to  begin  their 
work.  Here  we  find  the  illustration  of  another  wise  proverb,  which 
bids  us  to  "make  haste  slowly."  The  incident  which  follows  was, 
no  doubt,  in  part,  a  result  of  these  quiet  days  of  inquiry  and  obser- 
vation. 


THE   FIRST   EUROPEAN   COmnERT.  219 


II.— THE   FIRST  EUROPEAN   CONVERT. 

Lydia  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  an  European,  but  belonged  to  an 
Asiatic,  province,  Thyatira.  Yet  for  purposes  of  trade  she  was  in 
Europe,  and  thus  became  the  first  convert  on  European  soil,  just  as 
Cornelius  was  the  first  European  convert  on  Asiatic  soil.  These  two 
cases  of  Lydia  and  Cornelius  were,  as  it  were,  the  two  spans  of  the 
bridge  that  united  Asia  and  Europe  by  the  Gospel. 

1.  A  Sabbath-day. — We  do  not  know  how  many  days  Paul  and 
his  companions  had  been  in  Philippi ;  but  we  must  believe  that  it 
w'as  on  the  very  first  Sabbath  of  their  sojourn  that  they  went  forth 
to  the  river-side,  where  certain  people,  of  whom  they  had  heard, 
were  in  the  habit  of  resorting  for  prayer.  It  was  not  Paul's  cus- 
tom to  keep  at  home  on  the  Sabbath,  behind  closed  doors  and  win- 
dows, reading  solemn  books,  and  ''being  religious."  To  him  the 
Sabbath  was  a  day  of  ''rest  in  labor."  It  was  his  "custom"  to  go 
abroad  on  the  Sabbath-days  in  search  of  souls.  What  a  blessed 
break  this  day  of  rest  is  from  the  secularities  of  the  world.  It  is 
God's  day,  the  day  of  the  Lord,  the  day  when  his  people,  freed  from 
the  toil  and  drudgery  of  secular  pursuits,  are  at  liberty  to  go  abroad, 
to  places  where  peojjle  assemble  by  the  river-side  and  elsewhere  for 
prayer,  and  to  "fish  for  souls."  Thus  did  Paul  use  his  Sabbath-days ; 
thus  did  the  Master  himself  go  abroad  on  the  Sabbath  to  heal  those 
who  had  need  of  him. 

2.  The  river-side. — There  was  no  synagogue  in  Philippi,  it  being 
a  military  rather  than  a  commercial  city,  which  is  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  the  absence  of  any  great  number  of  Jews.  Yet  there  were 
a  few  Jews  there  and  some  proselytes.  They  resorted  to  a  river- 
side for  worship  and  prayer,  and  for  religious  bathing.  In  all 
Oriental  countries  the  river-side  is  a  sacred  place.  It  was  on  the 
willows  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  Babylon  that  the  Jews  hung 
their  harps  and  sorrowed  in  the  days  of  captivity.  Here  in  India 
every  river-side  has  its  gathering  of  people  to  pray  and  bathe ; 
especially  is  this  true  of  the  Ganges,  Jumna,  and  Hooghly.  Paul 
had  found  out  this  place,  and  naturally  went  there  to  seek  out  first 
those  who  knew  the  God  of  the  Old  Testament,  whether  Jews  or  pros- 
elytes. 

3.  In  the  way  of  salvation. — Lydia  and  her  household  were  not 
Christians,  perhaps  not  saved  at  all  in  the  New  Testament  sense, 
but  they  were  in  the  way  of  salvation.  They  were  devout,  and 
worshiped  God  aceordilf^  to  their  light.     Like  Nathanael  under  the 


220  PAUL  CALLED  TO  EUROPE. 

fig  tree,  like  Cornelius  in  Cesarea,  praying  and  giving  alms,  like  the 
Eunuch  reading  his  parchment  copy  of  Isaiah,  these  women,  and 
especially  Lydia,  were  in  the  way  of  salvation.  God  always  meets 
with  such.  Nathanael  had  his  Philip,  Cornelius  had  his  Peter,  the 
Eunuch  had  his  Philip  (the  deacon),  and  Lydia  had  her  Paul.  God 
knows  those  who  are  seeking  him,  and  sends  them  the  right  teachers. 

4.  Apostolic  preaching. — Art  has  pictured  Paul  to  us  in  flow- 
ing robes,  with  outstretched  hand  speaking  to  the  philosophers  gath- 
ered upon  Mars'  Hill  in  Athens.  No  doubt  it  was  a  grand  sight  to 
thus  see  Paul  the  orator  discussing  the  great  questions  of  life  and 
death  with  these  Athenians ;  but  here  we  see  the  same  apostle  in 
another  manner.  A  few  women  gathered  by  a  river-side  to  pray 
and  bathe  :  Paul  comes  among  them  and  sits  down,  and  there  tells 
them  of  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  His  Master  before  him  had 
gladly  discoursed  with  one  woman  at  the  Jacob's-well  curb.  It  was 
meet  that  he  should  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  his  Lord.  No  doubt  it 
is  pleasanter  and  more  inspiriting  to  preach  on  Mars'  Hill  than  to  sit 
down  and  talk  with  the  handful  of  women  we  may  meet  here  and 
there ;  but  as  the  woman  of  Samaria  carried  the  news  of  salvation 
to  her  city,  who  knows  but  that  this  woman  carried  back  the  news 
of  salvation  to  her  own  city,  and  was  the  means  of  gathering  one  of 
the  famous  seven  churches  of  Asia?  If  we  would  be  apostolic,  let 
us  sow  our  seed  by  all  waters,  carry  on  God's  work  under  all  circum- 
stances, be  ready  to  serve  among  the  few  as  well  as  among  the 
many,  counting  it  all  joy  to  be  used  anywhere  and  for  the  salvation 
of  any  soul. 

6.  "A  certain  woman." — There  were  a  company  of  women  who 
resorted  to  that  river-side,  but  among  them  there  was  "a  certain 
woman. "  It  is  these  "  certain  "  individual  women  which  have  marked 
the  history  of  the  Church,  and  studded  it  as  with  gems  all  along  the 
line  from  Sarah  to  Lydia.  We  hear  men  sneer  at  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  because  it  is  "so  attractive  to  women."  "Religion  is  good 
enough  for  women,"  these  fools  say,  as  though  they  were  too  good 
or  too  wise  for  religion.  It  is  well  for  men  that  women  have  ac- 
cepted Christ,  and  by  imbibing  his  sweet  and  gentle  spirit  have 
made  the  world  tolerable  for  men  to  live  in.  What  would  the  world 
have  ever  done  if  it  had  not  been  for  those  "certain  women"  who 
have  blessed  it — the  Sarahs,  the  Rebeccas,  the  Hannahs,  the  Na- 
omis,  the  Ruths,  the  Elizabeths,  the  Maries,  the  Dorcases,  the  Pris- 
cillas,  and  scores  of  others  whose  names  are  written  both  in  the 
Bible,  in  Church  history,  and  in  the  unread  records  of  a  million 
homes  and  private  places  in  the  world,    lirod  be  praised  that  the 


THE   FIRST   EUROPEAN   CONVERT.  221 

women  in  general,  and  our  own  wives  and  daughters  in  particular, 
have  attended  to  the  words  which  have  been  spoken  to  them  from 
the  Lord,  and  become  his  disciples.  It  is  a  day  of  woe  when  women 
become  irreligious.  The  world  can  scarce  live  with  its  infidel  men ; 
alas,  it  would  die  did  the  women  turn  also  to  infidelity ! 

6.  The  preparation  of  the  heart  is  from  the  Lord. — This 
woman  of  Thyatira,  this  seller  of  purple,  was  a  devout  worshiper  of 
God.  If  all  trading  men  and  women  were  worshipers  of  God,  busi- 
ness would  be  better  in  more  ways  than  one.  God  watches  over  his 
worshipers,  and  now  he  brought  new  teaching,  better  news  than  she 
had  ever  heard,  to  her.  The  Spirit  was  present  and  unlocked  her 
heart,  drew  away  the  Jewish  jprejudices  which  clung  about  it,  and 
gave  her  both  heart  and  ear  to  attend  to  and  receive  the  word  of 
salvation.  It  is  not  said  she  was  converted,  but  it  is  sure  that  con- 
version is  the  result  of  an  open  heart  and  an  honest  attention  to 
God's  word.  Let  not  any  one  suppose  that  conversion  is  a  haphazard 
matter.  Look  at  all  the  steps  which,  directed  of  the  Lord,  led  up  to 
the  conversion  of  this  woman,  and  then  judge  whether  conversion 
is  a  mere  accident  of  time  and  circumstance. 

7.  Given  to  hospitality. — Immediately  upon  her  conversion 
she  was  baptized,  and  with  her,  we  are  told,  "her  household."  It  is 
not  at  all  certain  that  this  expression  includes  infants.  It  is  more 
likely  that  it  refers  to  her  retainers  and  servants.  Being  a  trading 
merchant,  and  traveling  as  well,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  she  had  in- 
fant children  with  her.  It  is  not  a  point  of  importance.  This  is 
one,  however,  that  so  soon  as  she  was  formally  introduced  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  her  heart  went  out  in  hospitable  intent  toward 
the  servants  of  God  by  whose  ministry  she  had  been  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  ''Given  to  hospitality,"  is  an  injunction 
that  belongs  to  Christian  teaching ;  and  of  old,  having  entertained  the 
saints,  was  itself  a  mark  of  sainthood.  Paul  at  first  was  disinclined 
to  accept  her  hospitality,  according  to  his  invariable  rule  of  not  be- 
ing burdensome  to  any.  But  she  constrained  them,  and  he  yielded. 
True  courtesy  yields  a  point  to  hospitality,  even  when  inclination 
and  habit  lead  to  an  opposite  course.  This  was  but  the  beginning 
of  Ijydia's  hospitality  and  ministry  to  the  servants  of  God.  We  shall 
see  further  as  we  study  her  story,     (v.  40.) 


XXVIII. 

PAUL  AT    PHILIPPI.— Acts  xvi,   19-34. 

(19)  And  when  her  masters  saw  that  the  hope  of  their  gains  was  gone, 
they  caught  Paul  and  Silas,  and  drew  them  into  the  marketplace  unto  the 
rulers,  (30)  And  brought  them  to  the  magistrates,  saying,  These  men, 
being  Jews,  do  exceedingly  trouble  our  city,  (21)  And  teach  customs, 
which  are  not  lawful  for  us  to  receive,  neither  to  observe,  being  Romans. 
(23)  And  the  multitude  rose  up  together  against  them;  and  the  magistrates 
rent  off  their  clothes,  and  commanded  to  beat  them.  (23)  And  when  they 
had  laid  many  stripes  upon  them,  they  cast  them  into  prison,  charging  the 
jailer  to  keep  them  safely:  (34)  "Who,  having  received  such  a  charge,  thrust 
them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks.  (35)  And 
at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises  unto  God:  and  the 
prisoners  heard  them.  (36)  And  suddenly  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  so 
that  the  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken :  and  immediately  all  the 
doors  were  opened,  and  every  one's  bands  were  loosed.  (37)  And  the  keeper 
of  the  prison  awaking  out  of  his  sleep,  and  seeing  the  prison  doors  open,  he 
drew  out  his  sword,  and  Avould  have  killed  himself,  supposing  that  the  pris- 
oners had  been  fled.  (38)  But  Paul  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Do  thy- 
self no  harm :  for  we  are  all  here.  (39)  Then  he  called  for  a  light,  and  sprang 
in,  and  came  trembling,  and  fell  down  before  Paul  and  Silas,  (30)  And 
brought  them  out,  and  said,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  (31)  And 
they  said.  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and 
thy  house.  (33)  And  they  spake  unto  him  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  to  all 
that  were  in  his  house.  (33)  And  he  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night, 
and  washed  their  stripes ;  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straightway. 
(34)  And  when  he  had  brought  them  into  his  house,  he  set  meat  before 
them,  and  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his  house.— Acts  xvi,  19-34. 

Paul  and  his  party  reached  Philippi  as  it  were  in  a  calm  sea. 
For  a  few  days  all  remained  quiet  and  prosperous.  The  first  few 
days  of  rest  and  quiet  observation,  followed  by  the  Sabbath  at  the 
river-side  and  the  conversion  of  Lydia  and  her  household,  gave  token 
of  a  prosperous  time.  Then  followed  the  incident — a  street  incident 
— of  the  poor  devil-possessed  girl,  who  was  made  merchandise  of  by 
her  cruel  masters,  and  out  of  whom  Paul  cast  the  devil,  (vs.  16-18.) 
This  was  the  signal  for  the  battle  with  the  hosts  of  darkness.  Not 
long  were  these  men  to  have  a  peaceful  time.  In  fact,  the  days  of 
their  peace  were  at  an  end.  They  were  accustomed  to  this  kind 
of  usage,  however.  No  fair-weather  Christians,  no  dress-parade 
soldiers  were  they.  The  grace  of  God  cannot  work  long  without 
coming  into  conflict  with  the  powers  of  darkness ;  the  Gospel  of 


APOSTOLIC   TRIAL.  223 

Christ  does  not  run  far  without  meeting  with  and  stirring  up  the 
devil.  So  Paul  and  his  party  found  it,  both  to  their  cost  and  to 
their  joy. 

I.— APOSTOLIC    TRIAL. 

We  have  remarked  that  Paul  was  already  acquainted  with  rough 
handling  by  a  mob ;  but  now,  for  the  first  time,  he  really  came  into 
conflict  with  a  heathen  mob  pure  and  simple.  Hitherto  his  persecu- 
tors had  been  Jews ;  now  they  were  heathen,  and  of  the  very  worst 
class,  instigated  by  men  who  were  heartless  enough  to  make  gain 
out  of  the  heavy  and  wretched  misfortune  of  the  poor  girl  who  was 
possessed  of  the  "  Python  devil."  So  long  as  these  men  had  not  in- 
terfered with  their  gains  or  evil  practices  they  remained  unnoticed 
in  the  city;  but  the  moment  the  Gospel  interfered  with  their  ill- 
gotten  gains,  then  these  lewd  and  heartless  men,  together  with  their 
dupes,  began  to  create  an  uproar. 

1.  The  authors  of  the  mischief. — These  were  the  masters  or 
owners  of  the  x^oor  hmatic  girl,  out  of  whom  they  made  much  money 
by  deceiving  the  ignorant,  and  trading  on  the  superstitious  fears  of 
the  masses,  who  are  always  ready  to  be  duped.  I  have  witnessed 
here  in  India  the  very  things  which  these  men  practiced  with  the 
Insane  girl.  A  lunatic  child  is  considered  by  its  parents  a  very  God- 
send, because  out  of  the  mental  infirmity  gain  may  be  had,  either  by 
directly  utilizing  the  child  themselves,  or  selling  it  to  some  master 
Vy^ho  knows  better  how  to  manipulate  the  misfortune.  Even  blind- 
ness and  deformity  are  thus  utilized  by  parents  to  make  gain  of 
their  children.  In  many  cases  men  deliberately  feign  madness  in 
order  to  gain  money  from  the  people  by  prophesying  or  amusing  the 
people  with  crazy  antics.  This  was  a  ease  of  real  madness,  induced 
by  the  actual  presence  of  the  "Python  spirit."  The  conversion  of 
this  young  woman  and  the  exorcism  of  the  evil  spirit  at  once  put  an 
end  to  all  hope  of  their  gain.  No  wonder  they  were  enraged  at  these 
preachers  of  the  Gospel.  For  the  same  reason  rum-sellers,  book- 
makers, and  those  who  otherwise  trafiic  in  the  misfortunes  and  sins  of 
others,  are  filled  with  indignation  at  the  disturbances  of  the  peace  (?) 
which  the  Gospel  creates.  The  hope  of  such  gain  is  curtailed,  no 
doubt,  by  the  presence  of  the  Gospel.  For  the  Gospel  limits  the 
field  and  the  methods  of  business  to  the  conditions  and  laws  of 
righteousness.  The  Gospel  will  not  tolerate  gain  in  connection  with 
slavery,  drink  traffic,  gambling,  and  other  businesses,  which  are  very 
profitable  because  they  feed  upon  the  passions  and  weaknesses  of  men. 
It  was  these  men  who  instigated  the  persecution  of  the  apostles. 


224  PAUL  AT  PHILIPPI. 

2.  A  false  charge. — It  is  bad  enough  to  be  arrested  and  pun- 
ished for  our  faults,  and  to  be  condemned  for  things  of  which  we 
have  been  actually  guilty ;  but  here  a  part  of  the  suffering  was  that 
they  were  falsely  accused.  Nevertheless,  it  is  better  to  suffer  in- 
nocently than  to  go  free  as  a  wrong-doer.  These  men,  when  they 
seized  the  apostles  and  dragged  them  before  the  magistrates,  charged 
them  with  being  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  the  city.  What  a  lot  of 
liars  they  were !  They,  and  not  the  apostles,  were  breaking  the 
peace.  However,  it  was  their  cue  (as  it  was  the  wolf's  against  the 
lamb)  to  charge  them  with  muddying  the  stream.  They  carefully 
keep  out  of  sight  their  real  motives,  and  say  not  a  word  of  the  real 
cause  of  their  anger,  namely,  that  they  had  suffered  in  their  pockets 
by  the  conversion  and  healing  of  the  mad  slave  girl.  Their  charges 
were  ingeniously  contrived.  They  "trouble  our  city."  Here  they 
pose  as  pm*e-minded  citizens  who  have  no  interest  so  close  at  heart 
as  the  welfare  of  the  city.  Then  these  men  are  ''Jews."  This  was 
a  good  stroke  of  policy,  for  the  Jews  were  in  general  bad  odor,  and 
just  then  especially ;  because  of  some  recent  uproar  in  Eomo  they 
had  recently  been  banished  from  that  city,  and  Philippi  could  not  do 
better  than  imitate  her  regal  patron.  Then  with  great  tact  they 
charge  the  apostles  with  teaching  customs  which  were  "  not  lawful " 
for  them  to  receive,  being  Komans.  In  this  there  was  a  grain  of 
truth :  for  though  Eome  was  tolerant  of  all  religions,  even  that  of 
the  Jews,  she  was  intolerant  of  any  kind  of  proselytizing  from  one 
religion  to  another,  which,  especially  among  the  heathen,  tended  to 
strife  and  confusion.  In  this  the  policy  of  Rome  was  wise.  But  it 
could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  the  Gospel  should  violate  both  in 
spirit  and  letter  this  law  of  Eome.  To  preach  the  truth  of  the  one 
God  and  Jesus  Christ  was  directly  and  indirectly  to  attack  and  an- 
tagonize all  forms  of  idolatry  and  heathenism.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
though  the  accusers  of  the  apostles  were  not  concerned  on  that  point 
at  that  time,  the  casting  out  of  that  Python  devil  from  that  poor 
maid  was  the  first  blow  to  European  heathenism.  It  was  the  first 
skirmish  in  the  grand  conflict,  and  the  one  that  brought  on  the  battle 
which  did  not  end  until  the  last  idol  in  Europe  was  cast  down  and 
the  last  form  of  heathenism  was  routed.  Wherever  the  Gospel 
comes  it  must  stir  up  the  hatred  of  evil  men  and  lay  the  ax  at  the 
root  of  the  tree  of  human  pride — "our  custom." 

3.  A  cruel  beating. — Not  waiting  for  formal  trial,  but  taking 
the  word  of  their  accusers,  and  hearkening  to  the  howling  mob  which 
had  been  raised  by  these  clever  men  who  had  lost  the  "hope  of 
gain,"  and  to  whom  the  ignorant  populace  had  been  in  the  habit  of 


APOSTOLIC   FAITH.  225 

giving  heed,  the  magistrates  ordered  Paul  and  Silas  to  be  beaten 
with  rods.  This  is  one  of  the  most  cruel  tortures  to  which  the 
wretched  victims  of  Roman  law  (or  violence)  were  subject.  With 
backs  laid  bare,  the  flexible  rods  were  laid  on  mercilessly,  until  the 
whole  was  a  mass  of  broken  and  lacerated  flesh,  bruised  and  broken 
until  every  inch  of  the  body  was  as  sensitive  as  an  unlanced  boil. 
Paul  speaks  of  this  experience  (I.  Thess.  ii,  2)  as  "  shameful  treat- 
ment received  at  Philippi."  No  doubt  he  remembered  it  all  the  days 
of  his  life,  and  carried  with  him  in  his  own  body  these  honorable 
marks  of  his  suffering  for  Christ's  sake.  For  Christ's  sake  he  was 
glad  thus  to  "endure  hardness,"  but  that  did  not  by  any  means  ex- 
cuse or  justify  the  "  shameful  treatment "  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  Philippians,  though  no  doubt  in  after-years  Paul's  joy  over  the 
brethren  in  that  city,  the  thoughts  of  his  beloved  Philippians,  quite 
put  out  of  mind  the  suffering  he  had  gone  through  in  bringing  the 
Gospel  to  them. 

4.  Cast  into  prison. — The  rage  against  these  apostles  was 
great ;  "  many  stripes  "  were  given  them,  more  than  usual.  Then 
they  were  cast  into  prison,  another  Eastern  horror,  and  one  that  we 
are  little  acquainted  with ;  a  horrible  dungeon,  foul  with  putrid  air 
and  uncleaned  filth,  black  with  unnatural  darkness,  and  damp  with 
undried  walls.  The  inner  prison,  I  suppose,  was  one  more  horrible 
than  another,  deeper  down  or  farther  in ;  the  prison  reserved  for 
the  worst  criminals,  or  for  those  who  were  never  more  to  come  out, 
or  only  to  come  out  to  execution.  Added  to  these  things,  the  jailer, 
in  order  to  be  zealous  in  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  his  superiors, 
added  the  stocks — ^bitter,  hard,  and  cruel  irons,  in  which  the  feet 
were  placed ;  perhaps,  as  was  usual,  their  wrists  also,  and  even  their 
necks.  When,  later  on  in  his  experiences,  Paul  said  "bonds  and 
afiQictions  abide  me,"  he  knew  what  he  was  talking  about,  and  had 
fully  counted  the  cost  when  he  accepted  this  alternative. 

II.— APOSTOLIC   FAITH. 

None  of  these  things  moved  these  early  heroes.  It  was  indeed  a 
strange  sequel  to  the  prompt  obedience  they  had  rendered  to  the 
directions  of  the  Spiritrto  come  into  Europe,  and  to  preach  the  Gospel 
there.  Had  they  been  walking  by  sight  they  must  have  '^gathered 
assuredly "  that  they  had  made  a  great  mistake.  But  not  so  these 
men.  Faith  sees  in  the  dark,  and  discerns  the  hand  of  God  in  bonds 
and  imprisonments,  as  well  as  in  the  loud  acclaims  of  the  eager 
multitude. 


226  PAUL   AT   PHILIPPI. 

1.  A  midnight  service. — Luke  and  Timothy  seem  somehow  to 
have  escaped  the  fury  of  the  mob,  and  Paul  and  Silas  only  were 
its  victims.  What  a  strange  place  for  a  prayer-meeting!  What  a 
strange  hour  for  a  song !  What  strange  circumstances  to  evoke 
them !  Here  is  the  triumph  of  faith,  a  triumph  superior  to  all  cir- 
cumstances, and  which  translates  even  those  which  surrounded 
them  in  the  light  of  God.  With  such  faith  even  these  sorely  suffer- 
ing men  could  not  only  pray  but  sing.  Prayer  does  not  mean 
despair,  but  may  mean  confidence,  and  in  this  case  it  doubtless  did. 
The  memory  of  more  than  one  Psalm  must  have  furnished  the  argu- 
ment for  their  prayer  and  the  theme  for  their  hymn.  "  Offer  unto 
God  thanksgiving ;  and  pay  thy  vows  unto  the  Most  High  :  and  call 
upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble :  I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
glorify  me."  '' Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  me,  therefore  will 
I  deliver  him :  I  will  set  him  on  high,  because  he  hath  known  my 
name.  He  shall  call  upon  me,  and  I  will  answer  him  :  I  will  be  with 
him  in  trouble;  I  will  deliver  him,  and  honor  him."  "In  thee,  O 
Lord,  do  I  put  my  trust ;  let  me  never  be  ashamed :  deliver  me  in 
thy  righteousness.  Bow  down  thine  ear  to  me  ;  deliver  me  speedily : 
be  thou  my  strong  rock,  for  a  house  of  defense  to  save  me.  For 
thou  art  my  rock  and  my  fortress ;  therefore  for  thy  name's  sake 
lead  me,  and  guide  me.  Pull  me  out  of  the  net  that  they  have  laid 
privily  for  me  :  for  thou  art  my  strength.  Into  thine  hand  I  commit 
my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  O  Lord  God  of  truth."  (Ps.  1,  14, 
15;  xci,  14,  15;  xxxi,  1-5.)  Perhaps  these  were  the  words.  At 
any  rate,  these  Psalms  furnished  the  spirit  of  their  hymn  and  the 
argument  of  their  prayer.  It  was  a  singular  ser\dce,  a  strange  place 
for  a  prayer-meeting ;  but  prisons  can  be  palaces  when  the  Lord  is 
present  with  his  people. 

2.  A  listening  audience. — The  other  prisoners  in  ward  had 
perhaps  seen  them  as  they  were  passed  by  to  their  inner  dungeon, 
and  gathered  something  of  who  they  were.  At  midnight  they  were 
awakened  by  the  unwonted  sounds  of  their  voices  lifted  in  prayer 
and  song.  This  was  new  to  them.  What  manner  of  men  are  these 
who  are  waking  the  echoes  of  this  old  prison  with  such  joyful 
sounds  ?  Oaths,  imprecations,  and  ribald  songs  would  not  have  dis- 
turbed their  slumbers,  but  such  "  songs  of  praise  "  they  had  never 
heard.  They  were  not  singing  to  an  audience,  and  yet  they  had  one, 
those  sorely  beaten  apostles.  And  so  will  we  have  those  "  listening 
to  us "  that  we  wot  not  of,  if  in  every  place  and  in  all  things  we 
acknowledge  the  Lord.  A*  happy  hymn  from  the  lips  of  a  consistent 
Chi'istian  has  great  attractions  even  to  the  ungodly. 


APOSTOLIC   TRIUMPH.  227 

3.  A  loud  Amen. — As  they  prayed  and  sang  there  came  a  sud- 
den earthquake,  which  shook  the  prison  to  its  foundations,  flung 
open  all  its  doors,  and  threw  down  the  stocks  which  held  the  pris- 
oners bound.  This  was  God's  answer  to  prayer,  his  Amen  to  their 
faith.  The  earthquake  may  not  have  been  the  result  of  miracle,  any 
more  than  the  concurrence  of  the  wicked  hands  of  the  Jews  in  cruci- 
fying Christ  was  a  miracle,  though  it  served  the  purpose  of  God  at 
that  time.  So  it  was  here.  Let  us  accept  it  either  as  natural  or 
supernatural,  or,  if  we  please,  as  both ;  for,  indeed,  there  is  little  or 
no  difference  between  the  natural  and  the  supernatural,  except  in 
the  regularity  and  frequency  of  the  one  and  the  infrequency  of  the 
other.  God  is  as  much  present  in  the  law  that  brings  about  the 
daily  natural  events  as  he  is  in  the  law  that  brings  about  the  oc- 
casional supernatural  events.  In  this  earthquake  and  its  results  we 
have  a  kind  of  prophecy  of  what  God's  answer  will  be  to  all  the  de- 
vices of  men  and  all  the  forces  of  death  and  hell  arrayed  together 
against  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Gospel  of  his  love.  He  will, 
indeed,  open  the  prison  doors  and  let  his  captives  go  free,  and  the 
devil's  captives  too  ;  he  will  overthrow  and  bring  to  naught  the  de- 
vices and  schemes  of  men,  and  send  his  Gospel  forth  with  increased 
power  from  the  very  place  where  men  sought  to  imprison  and  bury 
it ;  he  will  one  day  rend  the  earth  by  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and 
the  very  grave  (that  prison-house  of  ten  times  ten  thousands  of  his 
saints)  shall  open  its  long-closed  doors,  and  ''the  prisoners  of  hope" 
shall  go  free  into  eternal  glory,  changed  and  fashioned  into  the 
image  of  Jesus  Christ. 

III.— APOSTOLIC   TRIUMPH. 

How  this  earthquake,  God's  Amen  to  the  prayer  and  hymn  of  Paul 
and  Silas,  changed  things  around !  The  praying  and  singing  did 
not  awaken  the  jailer,  but  the  earthquake  did.  Nothing  short  of  an 
earthquake  will  awaken  some  men  to  a  sense  of  their  sin  and  the 
immanence  of  God.  At  any  rate,  when  the  jailer  sprung  from  his 
couch  and  saw  that  the  prison  was  practically  in  ruins,  all  the  doors 
open  and  the  prisoners  loosed,  he  was  overwhelmed  first  with  a  fear 
of  the  consequences  to  himself  of  allowing  his  prisoners  to  escape. 
His  first  impulse  was  to  commit  suicide,  the  resort  of  many  a  brave 
Roman  at  that  day  to  escape  disgrace.  But  in  this  purpose  he  was 
arrested  by  the  voice  of  Paul. 

1.  "Do  thyself  no  harm." — There  is  nothing  vindictive  in  the 
spirit  of  Christ.     That  jailer  had  gloated  over  the  sufferings  of  Paul 


228  PAUL   AT    PHILIPPI. 

the  night  "before,  and  so  far  as  we  know  had  added  the  stocks  to 
their  sufferings  of  his  own  free  will.  Now  their  circumstances  are 
changed.  Paul  is  the  master  of  the  situation,  and  the  jailer  is,  as  it 
were,  at  his  mercy.  But  Paul  wished  him  no  harm,  and  hastened  to 
assure  him  that  not  only  was  he  there  all  safe  and  sound,  a  prisoner 
of  his  own  will,  but  for  some  reason  even  the  other  prisoners  were 
restrained  from  escaping. 

2.  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "—Upon  hearing  this  aston- 
ishing bit  of  news,  the  jailer  was  still  more  amazed.  He  had  strange 
prisoners.  They  sang  at  midnight  and  their  God  shook  open  their 
prison  doors,  and  yet  they  voluntarily  remained  in  prison.  This 
stolid  old  soldier  was  thoroughly  aroused  and  shaken  up.  Calling 
for  a  light,  he  sprung  into  Paul's  prison,  trembling  with  fear  and 
conviction,  and,  falling  down  at  the  feet  of  the  apostles,  cried  out : 
^'Sirs,  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?"  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the 
nature  of  this  cry  of  the  jailer's.  He  would  have  killed  himself 
through  fear  of  the  higher  state  authorities,  but  now  through  fear  of 
God  he  would  be  saved.  No  man  knows  the  value  of  his  life  until 
he  sees  it  in  the  light  of  the  judgment.  How  the  jailer  came  to 
know  about  salvation  must  be  to  a  certain  extent  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture ;  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  had  heard  of  the  new  doctrines 
which  Paul  and  Silas  were  preaching  in  connection  with  their  arrest 
and  imprisonment.  No  matter :  he  knew  himself  a  sinner,  and 
wanted  salvation.  He  cried  out  for  instruction,  and  sought  the  light 
of  God  from  the  servants  of  God.  It  is  true  that  his  cry  w^as  one  of 
fear ;  but  fear  is  a  right  motive  in  coming  to  God.  Any  man  truly 
convicted  of  sin  must  be  filled  with  fear  at  its  consequences.  It  is 
well  that  men  should  be  made  afraid  of  sin,  death,  and  the  judgment. 
"Would  that  more  were  so !  If  there  were  more  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences of  sin  there  would  be  less  loose  indulgence  of  sin. 

3.  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — This  is  the  simple 
answer  to  this  all-important  question.  We  are  sure  that  Paul  said 
more  than  this  to  him ;  but  we  are  also  sure  that  all  else  that  he  said 
was  but  in  elucidation  of  this  great  truth.  The  apostate  Julian  said 
to  a  Christian  as  a  sneer:  "Faith!  this  is  your  whole  philosophy." 
"Well,"  says  some  wise  man,  commenting  on  this,  "only  let  us  stick 
to  our  philosophy  and  we  will  do  well."  To  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  to  believe  him  to  be  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour 
of  sinners,  and  to  accept  him  as  such  and  surrender  one's  self  to  God 
by  him.  This  is  to  be  saved.  The  way  of  salvation  was  open  not 
only  to  the  jailer,  but  to  all  his  house,  to  whom  also  Paul  spoke  the 


APOSTOLIC   TRIUMPH.  229 

4.  Two  washing's. — When  Paul  and  Silas  went  into  that  prison 
with  their  backs  bleeding  and  torn,  there  was  no  compassion  in  the 
heart  of  the  jailer.  His  only  ministry  was  the  fixing  of  the  stocks 
upon  their  feet.  How  different  the  heart  is  after  God  comes  into  it. 
Now  those  poor  swollen  stripes,  which  perhaps  the  night  before  pro- 
voked some  brutal  jest,  lie  like  wales  of  fire  upon  his  own  heart. 
With  tender  hands  that  rough  old  jailer  now  leads  them  out  to  the 
fountain  in  the  prison  court,  and  there  tenderly  bathes  away  the 
burning  pain,  washing  off  the  clotted  blood,  and  doubtless  soothing 
the  wounds  with  oil  and  soft  bandages.  In  return  the  aj)ostles  ad- 
minister a  washing  to  the  jailer  and  his  household.  They  (Acts  xxii, 
16;  I.  Pet.  iii,  21)  baptized  him  and  all  his  straightway.  In  those 
primitive  times  faith  was  a  simple  matter.  It  was  just  believing  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  taking  God  at  his  word.  And  obedience  was 
as  prompt  as  it  was  simple.  The  same  hour  of  the  night  in  which 
the  jailer  believed  he  was  baptized.  There  was  no  question  as  to 
whether  he  would  hold  out.  That  was  taken  for  granted,  if  he  be- 
lieved on  the  Lord.  So  here  in  the  prison-yard  another  lot  of  eon- 
verts  was  gathered,  out  of  which  the  Philippian  Church  was  after- 
ward formed. 

5.  A  niarriag-e  supper. — After  the  jailer  had  washed  the  stripes 
upon  the  backs  of  Paul  and  Silas,  and  Silas  had  baptized  the  jailer 
and  his  household,  the  jailer  in  turn  took  matters  in  hand,  and 
brought  the  two  servants  of  God  back  into  his  house,  setting  meat 
before  them.  It  seems  that  hospitality  was  a  cardinal  point  with 
these  early  disciples.  At  any  rate  this  jailer  celebrated  the  marriage 
of  his  household  to  Christ  with  a  feast,  in  which  believing  and  re- 
joicing was  not  a  small  part  of  the  good  things  of  which  all  partook. 


XXIX. 

PAUL  AT  ATHENS.— Acts   xvii,  22-31. 

(22)  Then  Paul  stood  in  the  midst  of  Mars'  hill,  and  said,  Ye  men  of 
Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  superstitious.  (23)  For  as  I 
passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions,  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscrip- 
tion, TO  THE  UNKNOWN  GOD.  Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship, 
him  declare  I  unto  you.  (24)  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things  there- 
in, seeing  that  he  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples 
made  with  hands ;  (25)  Neither  is  worshipped  with  men's  hands,  as  though 
he  needed  any  thing,  seeing  he  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things; 
(26)  And  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed,  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation;  (27)  That  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply 
they  might  feel  after  him,  and  find  him,  though  he  be  not  far  from  evei-y 
one  of  us:  (28)  For  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being;  as  cer- 
tain also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  For  we  are  also  his  offspring.  (29) 
Forasmuch  then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to  think  that 
the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's 
device.  (30)  And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but  now  com- 
mandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent :  (31)  Because  he  hath  appointed  a 
day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man 
whom  he  hath  ordained ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in 
that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.— Acts  xvii,  22-31. 

We  have  now  entered  upon  the  third  stage  of  this  second  mission- 
ary journey  of  Paul.  The  first  was  through  Asia  from  Antioeh  to 
Troas ;  the  second  through  Macedonia,  including  Philippi,  Thes- 
saloniea,  and  Berea ;  the  third  is  now  beginning  at  Athens  and  will 
end  in  Corinth,  the  two  cities  which  correspond  with  Achaia.  We 
will  not  take  space  to  follow  Paul  through  Thessalonica,  where  he 
stayed  three  weeks,  and  gathered  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
churches  in  Europe,  where  he  was  bitterly  and  ruthlessly  persecuted 
and  driven  forth  by  the  Jews ;  nor  through  Berea,  where  the  people 
distinguished  themselves  by  an  honest  search  of  the  Scriptures  to 
see  if  the  things  which  Paul  preached  were  true.  After  this  Paul 
came  alone  to  Athens,  having  sent  Timotheus  back  to  Thessalonica, 
his  other  companions  remaining  behind  at  Berea.  Entering  the 
splendid  city  of  Athens,  Paul's  noble  soul  was  stirred  at  its  magnifi- 
cent architectural  beauty,  but  more  at  its  utter  abandonment  to 
idolatry.  Every  street,  every  corner,  ever}^  open  space,  every  public 
building,  was  crowded  with  idols.     It  has  been  said  that  you  could 


PAUL   AT    ATHENS.  231 

not  find  a  man  in  Athens  because  of  the  multitudes  of  gods.  Not 
only  were  all  the  forces  of  nature  deified  and  embodied  in  idols,  but 
even  every  passion  of  the  human  soul  was  deified  and  worshiped — 
love,  hatred,  envy,  honor,  pride,  etc.  I  have  recently  visited  a  city 
in  Burmah,  Pegan,  the  most  sacred  city  of  the  Buddhists,  albeit  it  is 
now  an  abandoned  city.  It  is  literally  a  City  of  Pagodas ;  for  five 
miles  square  the  whole  ground  is  covered  with  pagodas — these  idol 
temples  of  Buddha.  In  the  city  of  Mandalay  in  upper  Burmah  there 
is  one  vast  inclosure,  in  which  are  gathered  round  one  huge  central 
pagoda  four  hundred  and  fifty  others ;  on  every  street  and  in  every 
quarter  these  pagodas  (which  are  but  idol  shrines)  are  to  be  seen; 
there  are  hundreds  of  them  in  the  city ;  along  the  Irrawaddy  River, 
down  which  I  came,  for  more  than  seven  hundred  miles  the  eye 
never  missed  a  pagoda  ;  on  every  hill-top,  on  every  projecting  point 
of  rock,  on  every  plain,  there  the  idol  shrine  lifted  its  head,  and 
often  before  the  private  house  there  also  was  a  shrine.  On  enter- 
ing one  of  the  great  river  shrines,  the  eye  is  greeted  with  two  rows 
of  vast  herculean  Buddhas  crowded  close  together,  forty-nine  on 
each  side.  Thus  a  religion  which  was  inaugurated  as  a  protest 
against  idolatry  has  become  the  most  idolatrous  of  them  all.  In 
Athens  the  craze  after  gods  had  become  so  great  that  the  whole  city 
was  filled  with  idols.  Everything  was  deified,  and  every  available 
space  seized  upon  as  a  site  for  an  idol.  Then  when  they  could 
imagine  nothing  else  which  might  be  deified,  they  erected  altars  and 
inscribed  them  *'to  The  Unknown  God,"  determined  that  in  any 
event  they  would  allow  no  god  to  escape  their  worship.  This  utter 
abandonment  of  Athens  to  paganism  stirred  Paul's  heart  with  pitiful 
indignation.  But  it  did  more  :  it  stirred  him  to  action ;  so  that  we 
find  him  in  the  synagogues  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Jews,  and  in 
the  market-place  or  "agora,"  discussing  the  question  of  religion  with 
the  philosophers,  and  with  any  other  body  who  would  listen  to  him. 
In  this  way  he  had  attracted  the  attention  of  some  of  the  Epicureans 
and  Stoics,  who  desired  to  hear  more  particularly  concerning  the 
doctrines  he  preached,  as  it  was  a  passion  with  the  Athenians  to 
hear  and  report  something  new.  Paul  had  hitherto  encountered  the 
prejudices  of  the  bigoted  Jews,  the  sordid  passions  of  the  commoner 
heathen  of  Philippi  and  that  part  of  Europe ;  he  now  for  the  first 
time  comes  into  contact  with  the  polished  and  cultured  philosophy 
of  Greece.  He  was  courteously  invited  to  go  with  these  men  to  the 
Acropolis,  or  at  least  to  Mars'  Hill,  where  such  discussions  were  wont 
to  be  held,  and  there  expound  his  doctrines.  The  invitation  was 
courteous,  but  only  partly  serious.     It  would  at  least  serve  them  for 


232  PAUL   AT   ATHENS. 

a  new  diversion,  for  they  had  heard  that  he  was  a  setter  forth  of 
strange  or  foreign  doctrines,  and  this  whetted  their  appetite.  At 
any  rate,  Paul  found  himself  on  this  famous  spot  with  a  congregation 
of  cultured  men  about  him,  and  he  was  neither  slow  nor  afraid  to 
bring  before  them  the  great  truth  he  was  commissioned  to  preach  to 
all  the  world. 

I.— THE   UNKNOWN    GOD. 

Standing  in  the  midst  of  his  audience,  Paul  began  his  speech  in  a 
most  conciliatory  and  adroit  way.  Anxious  to  say  anything  kind  he 
could  of  them,  he  at  the  same  time  fully  purposed  faithfully  to  lay 
bare  the  folly  and  sin  of  their  gross  idolatry. 

1.  A  devout  people. — The  innate  wisdom  of  the  Apostle  is  seen 
in  the  courteous  manner  in  which  he  opened  his  address:  '*!  per- 
ceive that  in  all  things  ye  are  very  devout."  (This  is  the  true  read- 
ing of  the  passage.)  That  they  were  ''too  superstitious "  was  un- 
doubtedly true,  but  this  is  not  what  Paul  wished  or  intended  to 
convey.  He  was  anxious  to  gain  some  point  at  which  he  might 
commend  them  and  thus  win  their  good-will,  in  order  that  he  might 
speak  the  more  plainly  to  them  later  on  concerning  things  which  he 
could  not  commend.  If  possible,  we  ought  always  to  find  out  any 
point  of  unity  between  ourselves  and  our  audiences,  or  those  with 
whom  we  speak  concerning  the  things  of  God.  Courtesy  and  tact 
were  two  of  Paul's  most  efficient  weapons  in  spiritual  warfare.  He 
never  lost  an  opportunity  of  saying  a  courteous  word,  or  failed  to 
lay  hold  on  any  favoring  circumstance  in  the  case  wiiich  might  be 
before  him.  So  it  was  here.  These  people  were  indeed  devout. 
Religion  entered  into  every  part  of  their  life.  Gods  were  erected 
over  their  courts  of  justice,  over  their  places  of  trade,  over  their 
schools,  plentifully  placed  on  their  streets,  and  enshrined  in  all  their 
houses.  Eating,  drinking,  teaching,  hearing,  walking,  talking — in 
fact,  every  act  of  life  was  presided  over  by  some  deity.  Every  pas- 
sion and  even  fancy  of  the  mind  had  its  corresponding  deity.  This 
is  exactly  the  case  also  with  the  Hindoos  among  whom  I  have  for  the 
past  year  and  a  half  been  working.  There  are  in  the  Hindoo  Pan- 
theon 333,000,000  gods,  there  being  this  vast  number  so  that  by  no 
possible  means  they  should  miss  of  bringing  their  whole  life  under  the 
power  and  protection  of  some  deity.  When  they  visit  the  temple  of 
their  particular  god,  Vishnu,  or  Mahadeva,  they  will  first  offer  their 
rice  or  oblation  of  flowers,  and  then  turn  to  every  point  of  the  com- 
pass and  scatter  rice  and  flowers.     This  is  for  all  the  other  gods. 

2.  An  unknown  God. — Amongst  the  objects  of  their  devotions 


THE   TRUE   GOD.  233 

Paul  had  observed  an  altar  dedicated  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  GOD. 
This  he  took  for  his  text.  This  fact  in  the  first  place  proved  his  first 
point,  that  they  were  very  devout.  Such  an  altar  erected  and  in- 
scribed suggested  three  things  to  Paul's  mind.  First,  that  there  was 
in  these  idolaters  a  deep  sense  of  need ;  second,  a  sense  of  depend- 
ence— therefore  they  turned  from  themselves  to  their  fancied  gods ; 
third,  ignorance.  After  inventing  a  god  for  every  fancied  need,  they 
were  still  unsatisfied,  and  sought  out  any  possible  but  unknown  god 
that  they  might  worship  him,  as  if  by  so  doing  they  might  fill  up  the 
measure  of  their  devotion.  But  they  worshiped  him  in  ignorance. 
The  worship  of  the  unknown  god  was  the  cry  of  darkened  hearts  to 
the  darkness.  Not  in  Athens  alone  is  this  condition  of  things  exist- 
ent. There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  souls  all  around  us  yet 
crowded  with  "lords  many  and  gods  many"  dedicated  to  pleasure, 
profit,  and  ambition,  and  still  there  is  a  secret  sense  of  need  and  a 
blind  feeling  after  God,  who  is  unknown  to  them  personally,  though 
instinctively  believed  to  be  somewhere  in  the  universe. 

II.— THE    TRUE    GOD. 

Paul  availed  himself  of  this  altar  with  its  suggestive  inscription 
to  present  to  these  Athenians  the  true  God.  "Whom,  therefore,  ye 
ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto  you."  The  Athenians,  like 
the  Hindoos,  divorced  their  religion  from  their  philosophy.  With 
these  multitudinous  gods  they  yet  philosophically  offered  worship  to 
no  god.  The  Epicureans  held  a  materialistic  theory  of  the  universe, 
much  as  do  the  agnostics  of  our  day.  They  divorced  God  from  the 
universe,  or  else  confounded  him  with  it  to  such  an  extent  as  to  de- 
stroy all  personality,  and  followed  pleasure  as  the  supreme  good. 
The  Stoics  acknowledged  the  existence  of  God,  but  fell  back  upon 
their  own  sufficiency,  refusing  dependence  upon  him,  and  believed 
that  both  creature  and  Creator  were  alike  the  sport  and  victims  of  a 
supreme  and  omnipotent  chance  or  fate ;  and  yet  both  parties  or 
schools  encouraged  the  superstitious  idolatry  which  reigned  around 
them.  Paul,  taking  occasion  of  his  audience  and  the  idolatrous 
habits  of  the  people,  opened  up  to  them  the  true  doctrine  of  God  and 
man  in  an  address  which  is  a  masterpiece  of  argument,  and  in  a 
spirit  which  is  a  pattern  for  all  preachers  to  imitate.  He  does  not 
denounce  or  repudiate  either  natural  religion  or  philosophy,  but 
seeks  to  guide  both  into  the  line  of  light  which  streams  from  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  discourse,  as  we  have  the  notes  of  it, 
is  orderly  and  logical. 


234  PAUL   AT   ATHENS. 

1.  The  unity  of  the  Godhead. — ''God,  that  made  the  world 
and  all  things  therein,  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth."  He  was  in  a 
city  whose  worshipers  were  both  pantheists  and  polytheists.  He  at 
once  sets  them  right  on  these  points.  ''The  unknown  god"  whom 
they  were  ignorantly  worshiping  answered  for  Paul's  purpose  of  de- 
claring the  truth  concerning  the  ti'ue  God.  (i)  He  is  the  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth.  He  is  not  himself  the  outcome  of  creation,  but 
the  originator  of  it.  The  world  is  not  the  outcome  of  atoms  and 
fortuitous  forces,  but  the  effect  of  an  intelligent  Creator's  will,  (ii) 
He  is  not  a  being  confounded  with  nature  and  lost  in  it,  as  the  pan- 
theists teach.  The  wind  is  not  God ;  the  earth,  nor  the  air,  nor  the 
water,  nor  the  thunder,  nor  the  lightning,  is  not  God.  These  are 
elements  and  forces  in  the  heavens  and  earth  over  which  God  reigns, 
and  by  means  of  which  he  rules  in  creation.  He  is  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth.  This  is  the  first  verse  of  Genesis  over  again,  (iii)  See- 
ing God  is  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  heaven  and  earth,  it  is  prepos- 
terous to  suppose  that  he  could  dwell  in  temples  made  with  human 
hands.  It  is  true  that  in  the  olden  time  God  did  vouchsafe  to  mani- 
fest his  presence  by  the  Shekinah  in  the  tabernacle,  and  later  in  the 
Temple  which  Solomon  built  for  his  glory ;  but  this  was  never  in- 
tended to  be  understood  as  a  proper  dwelling-place  for  God,  as 
though  he  were  thus  limited  or  confined,  or  ever  could  be,  to  these 
human  boundaries.  Stephen  pressed  this  same  truth  home  upon  the 
Jews,  who  were  inclined  to  fall  into  the  same  error.  It  is  true  that 
"  Solomon  built  him  a  house.  Howbeit  the  Most  High  dwelleth  not 
in  temples  made  with  hands ;  as  saith  the  prophet.  Heaven  is  my 
throne,  and  earth  is  my  footstool :  what  house  will  ye  build  me  ?  saith 
the  Lord :  or  what  is  the  place  of  my  rest  ?  Hath  not  my  hand  made 
all  these  things?"  (Acts  vii,  47-50.)  Jesus  uttered  the  same  truth 
to  the  Samaritan  woman  when  he  said :  "  Woman,  believe  me,  the 
hour  Cometh,  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at 
Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father.  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  wor- 
ship him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  (John  iv,  21,  24.) 
It  is  equally  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth 
and  the  Author  of  mankind  could  be  ministered  to  by  our  hands, 
as  though,  instead  of  giving  life  and  breath  and  all  things  to  man,  he 
were  dependent  upon  our  gifts  and  ministry.  I  suppose  this  was  in  al- 
lusion to  the  practice  current  at  Athens  (as  it  is  here  in  India)  of 
bringing  gifts  of  food  to  the  gods,  as  though  they  were  hungry  and 
needed  it.  To  such  an  extent  is  this  form  of  worship  carried  here 
in  India,  that  every  god  has  a  miniature  representative,  who  is  regu- 
larly dressed  in  the  morning  and  undressed  and  put  to  bed  at  night. 


THE   TRUE   GOD.  235 

and  is  fed  with  rice  at  stated  times.  I  have  seen  the  riee  lying 
inches  deep  about  the  base  of  the  pedestal  upon  which  some  favor- 
ite idol  rests,  flung  there  in  handfuls  by  the  passing  worshipers.  I 
once  asked  a  priest  why  his  god  did  not  eat  the  food  that  was  so 
lavishly  offered  to  him.  He  replied  for  substance  that  it  was  the 
business  of  the  worshipers  to  offer  the  food,  and  it  was  the  concern 
of  the  god  to  eat  it  or  not  as  he  liked.  At  any  rate,  if  the  god  would 
not  eat  it  the  priests  would,  so  that  it  came  to  the  same  thing  in  the 
end.  This  form  of  worship  is  not  quite  unknown  in  Christian  lands. 
Many  worshipers  fling,  if  not  food,  at  least  prayers  and  hymns  and 
pence  and  dimes  at  their  unknown  God,  supposing  that  God  can  be 
propitiated  by  their  alms  and  patronage.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  must 
be  worshiped  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  When  shall  we  learn  this  great 
truth? 

2.  The  unity  of  the  human  race. — One  of  the  common  errors 
of  the  heathen  growing  out  of  their  polytheism  was  that  the  human 
family  was  not  one  but  many,  the  different  branches  of  which  sprung 
from  different  progenitors  or  gods.  The  Greeks  would  on  no  account 
admit  that  the  barbarian  was  of  the  same  stock  and  blood  as  them- 
selves. So  neither  will  the  high-caste  Hindoo  admit  that  people  not 
born  Hindoos  are  of  the  same  blood  as  themselves,  and  even  the 
high-caste  deny  equality  of  blood  to  the  low-caste  man.  So  the 
Chinese  of  to-day  regard  all  other  people  as  ''foreign  devils,"  not 
simply  as  people  belonging  to  foreign  countries,  but  as  being  of 
devilish  origin,  just  as  they  pride  themselves  upon  being  of  celestial 
origin.  But  Paul  sets  them  right  here.  The  unity  of  the  Godhead 
and  his  universal  lordship  is  followed  by  the  necessary  corollary  of 
the  unity  of  the  race.  He  "hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth."  God  is  the  Creator  of 
the  whole  earth,  and  the  family  of  men  that  dwell  upon  it  are  one 
creation,  and  were  intended  to  dwell,  not  in  any  single  part,  but 
upon  the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  Thus  Paul  taught  them  that  no 
favored  races  or  families  could  claim  precedence  over  other  men,  at 
least  so  far  as  their  origin  was  concerned.  The  lowliest  barbarian 
is  the  blood  kinsman  of  the  haughtiest  Athenian.  They  both  sprung 
from  the  same  stock.  This  truth  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  great  doc- 
trine of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man,  and,  properly  understood, 
should  modify  the  pride  of  the  favorite  peoples,  and  inspire  the  hope 
of  those  who  hitherto  have  been  downtrodden.  This  truth  properly 
understood  works  the  death  of  all  political  and  social  slavery. 

3.  The  universality  of  God's  providence. — Not  only  is  God 
the  Author  of  the  human  race,  but  the  great  Disposer  of  its  destinies. 


236  PAUL  AT  ATHENS. 

Are  men  scattered  over  the  whole  face  of  the  earth?  Are  nations 
settled  within  hounds?  God  has  so  ordained  this;  it  has  not  come 
about  by  chance.  He  "  hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed, 
and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation."  If  proud  and  imperious  kings, 
generals,  and  rulers  of  men  suppose  that  they  have  arranged  the 
map  of  the  world  and  demarked  the  boundaries  of  the  nations,  they 
are  mistaken.  God  has  done  this,  though  he  may  have  used  and 
overruled  the  passions  and  selfish  interests  of  men  to  further  his 
purpose.  This  means,  in  fact,  that  God  is  in  all  history,  and  that 
all  the  affairs  of  men  are  subject  to  the  control  and  regulation  of  his 
providence.  If  this  is  true  of  nations,  it  is  no  less  true  of  individuals. 
4.  The  true  end  and  mission  of  man. — To  what  purpose  was 
the  world  created  and  man  placed  upon  it,  and  then  scattered  by 
families  and  nations  all  over  the  face  of  the  earth?  To  what  end 
were  men  divided  into  nations  and  governments,  and  institutions 
formed  among  them?  God  had  a  purpose  in  all  this.  What  is  that 
purpose  ?  Paul  answers  the  question  :  "  That  they  should  seek  the 
Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him,  and  find  him."  This  is  the 
grand  quest  of  man,  to  find  God  and  be  conformed  to  his  image. 
God  did  not  create  man  in  final  perfection — that  would  have  been  to 
make  him  a  machine  ;  but  he  created  and  endowed  him  with  a  moral 
and  spiritual  nature  with  needs  and  aspirations  that  would  search 
after  God,  in  finding  whom  he  would  find  his  own  true  center  and 
the  end  of  his  being.  Therefore  of  old  the  exhortation  was,  "  Seek 
ye  the  Lord,"  and  the  promise  was,  "And  ye  shall  seek  me,  and  find 
me,  when  ye  shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart."  (Is.  Iv,  6 ; 
Jer.  xxix,  13.)  Nor  is  this  search  all  on  one  side,  for  Jesus  tells  us 
that  God  himself  is  seeking  after  men  to  worship  him — that  is,  to 
come  into  fellowship  with  him.  (John  iv,  23.)  Following  this  mat- 
ter up,  the  Apostle  encourages  men  thus  to  seek  after  God,  assuring 
them  that  he  is  '^not  far  from  every  one  of  us."  God  is  nigh  unto 
all  that  call  upon  him.  He  assures  us  that  "in  him  we  live  and 
move  and  have  our  being."  In  support  of  this  he  quotes  from  one 
oi  their  own  poets  who  had  gotten  a  large  hint  of  this  truth,  who 
said,  "For  we  are  also  his  offspring."  Here,  then,  is  the  great  truth 
concerning  God  and  man.  God  created  us  for  himself,  placed  us  in 
this  world,  and  spread  over  us  a  provident  care — all  that  we  might 
seek  after  him,  even  as  he  is  seeking  for  us,  in  order  that,  coming 
together,  not  mechanically  or  by  arbitrary  compulsion,  but  spirit- 
ually and  voluntarily,  God  might  have  delight  in  our  voluntary  love 
and  we  might  joy  in  spiritual  knowledge  of  and  companionship  with 
God. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  CRISIS  IN  THE  WORLD'S  HISTORY.     237 

5.  The  folly  of  idolatry. — This  being  the  ease,  the  Apostle 
points  out  to  them  the  absurdity  of  idolatry.  Accepting  both  the 
declaration  of  their  own  poet,  as  well  as  the  higher  truth  of  revela- 
tion, he  shows  how  utterly  inconsistent  it  is  for  the  offspring  of  God 
to  conceive  of  the  Godhead  as  in  any  wise  represented  by  gold, 
silver,  or  stone,  "graven  by  art  and  man's  device."  How  degrading 
a  conception  this  is  !  Paul  alludes  both  to  the  material  and  to  the 
handling  of  the  material.  For  a  magnificent  sarcasm  on  idolatry 
the  reader  is  referred  to  Isaiah  xliv,  9-20,  which  is  the  basis  of  a 
former  study  in  this  series. 

III.— THE     SPIRITUAL     CRISIS     IN    THE     WORLD'S 
HISTORY. 

.  Naturally  enough  there  would  arise  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers, 
as  the  thought  that  has,  no  doubt,  arisen  in  ours :  If  this,  indeed, 
was  God's  thought  and  purpose  in  the  creation  of  the  world  and  man, 
and  in  his  providential  care  over  the  race,  why  has  he  so  long 
delayed  in  making  his  will  known  to  man  and  giving  him  the  clue 
to  the  purpose  of  his  creation?  Paul,  in  part  at  least,  meets  the 
thought  in  what  he  says  in  verses  thirty  and  thirty-one,  in  which  he 
sets  before  us  all  time. 

1.  The  past. — For  thousands  of  years  the  world  has  lain  in 
darkness  and  ignorance.  The  search  after  God  has  been  a  blind 
one,  and  men  indeed  had  lost  their  way  in  the  wilderness  of  idolatry 
and  false  philosophy.  How  this  state  of  darkness  came  about  Paul 
tells,  not  because  they  had  no  light,  but  '^  because  that,  when  they 
knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  .  .  .  but  became  vain  in  their 
imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Esteeming  them- 
selves to  be  wise,  they  became  fools."  (Rom.  i,  19-25.)  Following 
the  light  of  nature,  they  might  have  found  God ;  but  rejecting  this 
light  and  seeking  unto  their  own  understanding,  they  came  into 
darkness.  But  God  did  not  entirely  cast  off  the  heathen  world.  He 
still  kept  watch  and  ward  over  them  providentially,  and  as  for  their 
ignorance,  sin,  and  wandering  in  darkness,  it  has  seemed  as  though 
he  had  "  winked  at  it,"  or  rather  passed  it  by.  Certainly  he  has  not 
hitherto  dealt  with  the  heathen  world  in  judgment,  but  has  suffered 
it  for  the  past  time.  That  in  these  dark  nations  there  have  been 
earnest  souls  who  have  searched  after  God  and  found  him,  we  can- 
not doubt,  for  we  know  that  "  in  every  nation  he  that  f eareth  him 
and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  him."  And  we  need 
not  hesitate  to  add,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 


238  PAUL   AT   ATHENS. 

them  from  all  sin,"  even  as  it  does  ns  who  believe.     So  miicli  for  the 
past :  God  has  borne  with  it  and  suffered  it  to  go  its  own  way. 

2.  The  present. — Turning  from  the  past  to  the  present,  Paul 
sets  before  his  hearers  the  fact  that  a  new  crisis  has  arisen,  and 
that  God  once  more  turns  to  the  whole  world  and  speaks  directly 
and  authoritatively  to  all  men.  ''But  now  commandeth  all  men 
everywhere  to  repent."  This  is  why  Paul  is  in  Athens  preaching 
Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  testifying  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  Gospel  comes  with  a  command, 
urgent  as  imperative,  insistent  as  it  is  urgent.  '^  Repent !  Eepent ! ! 
Repent ! ! !  "  This  is  the  present  mighty  cry.  Change  your  mind, 
and  accept  God's  truth  about  things.  Change  your  course  of  life, 
and  walk  in  God's  highway  of  holiness.  This  is  the  way  of  life. 
Let  us  not  suppose  that  this  is  a  Gospel  for  heathen  only.  It  is  for 
those  who  in  so-called  Christian  lands  have  been  walking  in  darkness 
and  in  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  serving  idols  of  lust,  pleasure,  and 
ambition.  It  is  time  that  they  should  know  that  the  day  for  winking 
at  sin  is  past  and  the  time  for  repentance  has  come.  This  is  the 
present  duty.     Repent.     "Now  is  the  accepted  time." 

3.  The  future. — Turning  from  past  and  present  to  the  future, 
the  Apostle  emphasizes  his  argument  by  calling  their  attention  to 
the  future.  God  has  appointed  a  day  of  judgment.  Time  is  in 
God's  hands,  as  well  as  nations  and  boundaries.  He  has  fixed  a  day 
in  the  future  when  the  quest  will  be  over,  and  men  shall  appear  be- 
fore his  judgment-seat  and  give  an  account  of  their  doings.  There 
they  must  account  for  the  past  and  the  present  of  their  day  and 
opportunities.  The  rule  of  that  judgment  will  be  righteousness. 
Nothing  will  be  done  or  determined  in  mere  sovereignty  or  in  arbi- 
trariness, but  all  done  in  righteousness.  Moreover,  he  has  appointed 
that  the  judgment  shall  be  in  the  hands  of  a  Man,  one  touched  with 
every  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  and  who  was  tempted  in  all  points  like 
as  we  are,  and  thus  in  perfect  human  sympathy  with  us ;  moreover, 
one  who  loved  us  and  died  for  us,  to  bring  us  to  God.  Jesus  is  not 
only  the  world's  Redeemer,  but  he  is  also  the  world's  Judge.  Happy 
the  man  who  accepts  him  as  redeemer,  then  as  judge  he  can  and 
will  do  nothing  but  confirm  the  sentence  and  judgment  of  grace  and 
mercy  already  spoken  in  the  Gospel.  If  he  is  rejected  as  redeemer, 
then  he  must  be  met  as  judge,  and  the  full  sentence  of  righteousness 
will  be  pronounced  and  carried  out.  (Rom.  ii,  1-16.)  In  proof  of 
this  proposition  Paul  appeals  to  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead.  ''Whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all 
men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him"  (Jesus)  "from  the  dead."     The 


THE  SPIRITUAL  CRISIS  IN  THE  WORLD'S  HISTORY.    239 

historical  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead  is  the 
foundation  upon  which  all  Gospel  preaching  must  be  done ;  it  is  the 
foundation  fact  upon  which  the  judgment  of  God  in  righteousness 
must  be  proclaimed.  That  God  has  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead 
is  incontrovertibly  true.  Dr.  Thomas  Arnold  of  Rugby,  the  most 
famous  teacher  England  ever  had,  and  the  peer  of  any  professor  in 
his  specialty,  which  was  that  of  history,  which  he  taught  at  the  uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  says : 

''I  have  been  used  for  many  years  to  study  the  history  of  other 
times,  to  examine  and  weigh  the  evidence  of  those  who  have  written 
about  them,  and  I  know  of  no  one  fact  in  the  history  of  mankind 
which  is  proved  by  better  and  fuller  evidence  of  every  sort,  to  the 
mind  of  a  fair  inquirer,  than  that  Christ  died  and  rose  again  from 
the  dead." 


XXX. 

PAUL  AT   CORINTH.— Acts   xviii,    i-i  i. 

(1)  After  these  things  Paul  departed  from  Athens,  and  came  to  Corinth ; 
(2)  And  found  a  certain  Jew  named  Aquila,  born  in  Pontus,  lately  come 
from  Italy,  with  his  wife  Priscilla,  (because  that  Claudius  had  commanded 
all  Jews  to  depart  from  Rome,)  and  came  unto  them.  (3)  And  because  he 
was  of  the  same  craft,  he  abode  with  them,  and  wrought:  (for  by  their 
occupation  they  were  tentmakers. )  (4)  And  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue 
every  sabbath,  and  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks.  (5)  And  when  Silas 
and  Timotheus  were  come  from  Macedonia,  Paul  was  pressed  in  the  spirit, 
and  testified  to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  Avas  Christ.  (6)  And  when  they  opposed 
themselves,  and  blasphemed,  he  shook  his  raiment,  and  said  unto  them. 
Your  blood  be  upon  your  own  heads ;  I  am  clean :  from  henceforth  I  will  go 
unto  the  Gentiles.  (7)  And  he  departed  thence,  and  entered  into  a  certain 
man's  house,  named  Justus,  one  that  worshipped  God,  whose  house  joined 
hard  to  the  synagogue.  (8)  And  Crispus,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
believed  on  the  Lord  with  all  his  house ;  and  many  of  the  Corinthians  hear- 
ing believed,  and  were  baptized.  (9)  Then  spake  the  Lord  to  Paul  in  the 
night  by  a  vision.  Be  not  afraid,  but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace :  (10)  For 
I  am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee :  for  I  have  much 
people  in  this  city.  (11)  And  he  continued  there  a  year  and  six  months, 
teaching  the  word  of  God  among  them.— Acts  xviii,  1-11. 

Paul's  experience  and  work  at  Athens  were  not  altogether  fruit- 
less. Some  clave  unto  him.  Among  them  two  distinguished  per- 
sons :  "Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and  a  woman  named  Damaris." 
Yet  he  never  went  back  to  that  city,  never  wrote  an  epistle  to  it,  for 
he  never  founded  a  church  there.  This  was  the  only  city  in  which 
he  had  not  been  persecuted,  either  by  the  people  of  his  own  nation 
or  the  heathen.  This  was  the  first  and  only  time  he  had  preached 
to  an  exclusively  cultivated  audience.  He  was  quite  their  equal, 
and  showed  himself  a  master  both  of  argument  and  rhetoric  in  his 
famous  address,  but  he  always  felt  that  his  Athenian  experience  was 
a  defeat ;  and  he  left  the  city  with  a  heavy  and  discouraged  heart, 
as  we  know  from  the  state  of  mind  he  was  in  when  he  arrived  at 
Corinth,  "  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much  trembling."  (I.  Cor. 
ii,  3.)  Art  has  assigned  to  that  famous  Mars'  Hill  oration  the  most 
famous  place  or  act  in  Paul's  life,  and  our  chief  thought  of  Paul 
in  picture  is  associated  with  him  as  he  stood  there  amid  the  splendid 
monuments  of  that  city,  with  outstretched  hands  preaching  to  that 


ARRIVING  AT   CORINTH.  241 

congregation  of  wise  men.  Perhaps  if  Paul  could  have  been  con- 
sulted, that  would  have  been  the  one  experience  in  his  whole  ministry 
which  he  would  have  had  blotted  out  and  forgotten.  But  why?  Just 
because  he  felt  that  the  Gospel  was  not  in  power  there  ;  that  he  had 
been  led  into  a  possibly  false  attitude  toward  those  learned  men — 
those  Stoics  and  Epicureans.  He  had  not  indeed  shunned  to  declare 
the  Gospel,  but  he  had  descended  to  mere  philosophical  discussion 
of  abstract  themes.  He  had  not,  it  may  be,  boldly  proclaimed  Jesus 
as  the  Christ ;  he  had  not  dealt  vigorously  with  the  gross  sins  of  the 
people  ;  he  had  perhaps  allowed  himself  to  be  a  little  influenced  by 
the  human  motive  of  being  as  wise  and  polished  as  his  audience. 
This  is  his  own  estimate  of  the  matter,  not  ours.  This  we  learn 
from  what  he  said  to  the  Corinthians.  (I.  Cor.  ii,  1-5.)  Howbeit, 
God  did  not  leave  him  without  some  witness.  How  often  it  is  the 
case  with  us  that  on  those  occasions  when  apparently  we  are  most 
honored  by  men  we  are  least  in  power  with  them.  These  Athenians 
listened  to  him  with  a  lazy,  half  curious  com^tesy,  some  of  them 
with  a  languid  interest,  but  others  turned  coldly  and  sneeringly 
away  from  him  as  a  mere  "babbler."  They  did  not  oppose  him  or 
attempt  to  refute  his  doctrine ;  some  even  said  that  they  would  hear 
him  again,  some  time  at  their  convenience.  This  indifference  to  his 
message,  this  cold-hearted  courtesy,  just  about  broke  his  heart.  He 
would  have  gladly  welcomed  a  shower  of  stones,  or  a  hustling  at  the 
hands  of  a  mob,  rather  than  that  frigid  indifference.  But  Paul  did 
not  wait  for  the  philosophers  to  come  back  to  him  at  their  conven- 
ience.   He  departed  at  once  from  Athens  and  came  to  Corinth. 

I.— ARmVING  AT   CORINTH. 

The  distance  between  Athens  and  Corinth  was  only  about  forty 
or  at  most  fifty  miles.  He  probably  made  the  journey  partly  by 
water  and  partly  on  foot.  There  is  no  more  interesting  event  in  the 
life  of  Paul  than  the  one  now  before  us.  Luke  relates  the  incidents 
very  briefly,  and  only  gives  us  the  outside  of  the  picture ;  the  lights 
and  shadows  are  worked  in  incidentally  by  the  Apostle  himself  in 
his  epistles  to  the  church  which  he  founded  at  Corinth. 

1.  The  city  of  Corinth.— Athens  was  a  free  Greek  city;  Cor- 
inth was  the  Roman  capital  of  Achaia.  Athens  was  a  city  given  up 
to  elegant  leisure  and  philosophical  culture ;  Corinth  was  a  busy 
commercial  metropolis  situated  on  a  narrow  isthmus  of  land,  having 
a  port  on  either  side,  througli  which  gateways  came  to  her  all  the 
commerce  and  all  the  scum  both  of  Europe  and  Asia.     Corinth  was 


242  PAUL  AT   CORINTH. 

to  Athens  what  Glasgow  is  to  Edinburgh.  Corinth  has  been  com- 
pared both  to  London  and  to  Paris, — busy,  rich  and  opulent,  crowned 
with  commerce  and  bustling  with  traffic,  the  center  of  Eastern  trade 
at  that  time,  like  Venice  in  later  days.  At  the  same  time,  her  citi- 
zens were  luxurious,  pleasure-loving,  extremely  sensual,  and  alto- 
gether given  up  to  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  One  cannot 
read  the  epistles  to  the  church  in  this  city  without  gathering  an  im- 
pression of  the  existence  of  the  same  state  of  things  as  that  with 
which  secular  history  furnishes  us.  The  contrast  between  Mars'  Hill 
and  the  streets  or  market-places  of  Corinth  was  striking  and  im- 
mense. Into  this  maelstrom  of  luxury  and  license,  of  trade  and 
politics,  Paul  had  come  with  a  sore  and  lonely  heart. 

2.  The  Apostle. — We  have  just  said  that  Paul  entered  the  city 
with  a  sore  and  lonely  heart,  fie  w^as,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  still 
alone,  Silas  and  Timothy  being  detained  at  Thessalonica.  He  had 
come  away  from  Athens  discouraged,  mortified,  and  crestfallen.  The 
mercury  was  down  to  the  freezing-point  with  him.  We  can  fancy 
him,  a  man  of  no  striking  appearance,  and  more  than  usually  de- 
jected, entering  that  city  alone,  without  so  much  as  one  friend  in  it. 
What  cared  or  what  knew  Corinth  who  had  come  ?  He  was  the  am- 
bassador of  Heaven  bringing  the  greatest  message  ever  delivered  to 
this  world.  (II.  Cor.  v,  20.)  But  they  were  unmindful  of  him.  The 
marts  were  busy,  the  theaters  full,  and  the  interests  of  trade  and 
intoxications  of  pleasure  were  at  their  height,  when  the  greatest 
man  ever  in  Corinth,  the  one  destined  to  make  it  more  distinguished 
than  anything  in  her  past  or  present  history  had  done,  entered  its 
streets  alone  and  unnoticed,  except,  perhaps,  to  excite  a  passing 
sneer  or  curse  because  he  was  a  Jew.  So  came  Paul  into  Corinth. 
So  many  another  servant  of  God  has  come  unknown,  and,  it  may  be 
poor,  and  friendless  into  our  city  or  town,  and  we  have  not  known 
that  a  great  man  and  a  prophet  was  among  us.  So  there  come  into 
the  towns  and  cities  from  the  country  poor  boys  and  men  who  in 
the  providence  and  purpose  of  God  may  prove  very  princes  and  no- 
bles. Let  us  learn  the  needful  lesson  of  being  courteous  to  strangers, 
any  one  of  whom  may  be  an  apostle  or  an  angel. 

3.  The  oiitlook. — We  have  already  spoken  of  the  general  con- 
dition of  society  in  Corinth.  There  was  a  large  company  of  Jews  in 
the  city,  greatly  augmented  of  late  by  an  influx  from  Eome,  owing 
to  a  recent  decree  of  banishment  uttered  against  them.  Paul  was 
not,  as  we  have  also  seen,  in  very  high  spirits.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  was  suffering  from  a  very  bad  fit  of  despondency  and  discourage- 
ment.    "In  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much  trembling."     He 


PAUL'S   FIRST   HOME  IN   CORINTH.  243 

was  in  Europe,  and,  sliort  of  Rome,  in  the  chief  city.  He  saw  little 
to  cheer  him.  He  knew  the  temper  of  his  countrymen  the  Jews — 
they  had  always  persecuted  him ;  he  had  had  enough  of  philosophers, 
even  if  they  were  to  be  found  in  the  city.  Of  the  rich  he  had  little 
hope,  swallowed  up,  as  they  were,  in  their  pursuit  after  gain,  and 
immersed  in  the  common  vices  of  the  fashionable  and  dissolute  so- 
ciety which  reigned  in  Corinth.  As  for  the  mass  of  the  people,  they 
were  apparently  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  We  learn  from  his  first 
epistle,  and  indee^tl  from  all  his  writing  to  the  church  of  Corinth,  out 
of  what  material  the  church  was  gathered  :  "Fornicators,  idolaters, 
adulterers,  thieves,  covetous,  drunkards,  revilers,  extortioners "  (I. 
Cor.  vi,  9-11),  and  such  like.  From  the  top  to  the  bottom  the  whole 
city  was  rotten.  What  prospect  had  he  of  winning  their  attention 
to  the  Gospel,  much  less  of  winning  their  hearts  to  God?  But  this 
very  condition  of  things  was  God's  opportunity  to  do  great,  wondrous, 
and  gracious  things  with  his  servant  and  by  the  power  of  his  grace. 
Paul's  discouragement  in  Corinth  ought  to  help  us  when  we  find  our- 
selves in  similar  straits. 

II.— PAUL'S   FIRST   HOME   IN   CORINTH. 

Paul  did  not  plunge  into  work  on  his  first  arrival.  We  do  not 
hear  of  him  in  the  market-place  or  reasoning  with  the  Jews  at  once. 
His  first  care  was  to  find  a  home  where  he  might  rest  himself  and 
recover  his  spirits.  There  w^as  not  a  Christian  in  all  the  city.  To 
whom  should  he  go,  to  whom  apply  for  lodgings  ? 

1.  Aquila  and  Priscilla. — He  naturally  tm*ned  to  his  own  coun- 
trymen. Upon  inquiry  he  ascertained  that  there  was  a  certain 
Jew  and  his  wife  who  were  of  the  city  of  Pontus,  not  far  from  his 
own  home  at  Tarsus,  who  had  recently  resided  in  Rome  and  were 
now  in  Corinth,  having  been  expelled  from  the  imperial  city  with 
the  rest  of  the  Jews.  Two  considerations  most  likely  led  Paul  to 
seek  lodgings  with  this  family.  First,  they  were  of  his  own  country, 
that  is,  in  Asia ;  then,  secondly,  they  were  of  his  own  craft,  tent- 
makers.  It  is  not  likely  that  this  good  man  and  his  wife  were  Chris- 
tians, but  they  were  devout  Jews,  and  being  of  the  same  craft  would 
recommend  them  to  Paul.  We  know  that  later  on  they  became 
converts,  most  likely  very  soon  after  Paul  became  an  inmate  of  their 
house,  and  subsequently  were  most  helpful  "  laborers  together  "  with 
Paul  in  the  Gospel.  In  this  house  Paul  took  refuge  and  found  rest. 
It  was  a  time  when  he  needed  to  commune  with  his  own  heart  and 
with  God,  and  to  review  the  situation.     He  was  like  a  general  who 


244  PAUL  AT    CORINTH. 

had  been  beaten  in  an  important  engagement,  and  before  going  into 
battle  again  must  needs  pull  himself  together. 

2.  Laboring  with  his  own  hands. — It  was  one  of  Paul's  strong 
points  that  he  would  not  be  burdensome  to  any  one,  nor  beholden  to 
any  for  his  support,  and  especially  (later  on)  would  he  never  take  a 
penny  from  this  rich  Corinthian  church  for  his  own  necessities. 
Like  every  other  Jew,  whether  rich  or  poor,  he  had  been  taught  a 
mechanical  trade.  He  was  a  tent-maker,  and  engaging  to  dwell 
with  Aquila,  he  also  set  about  laboring  with  his  own  hands  to  earn 
his  own  living.  Tent-making  must  ever  after  be  an  honorable  call- 
ing since  Paul  worked  at  it,  just  as  carpentering  ought  to  be  the 
noblest  of  trades  since  Jesus  wrought  at  the  carpenter's  bench. 
Neither  Jesus  nor  Paul  would  be  admitted  into  the  society  of  modern 
"  gentlemen,"  on  account  of  their  mechanical  pursuits,  but  they  both 
belonged  to  the  aristocracy  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  When  a  man 
is  ashamed  to  work  with  his  own  hands  if  there  be  need,  then  he 
ceases  to  be  like  a  son  of  God  or  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was 
probably  while  sitting  together  at  their  work  that  Paul  won  Aquila 
over  to  Christ.  Discouraged  as  he  was  with  public  work,  he  could 
not  keep  still  in  private.  The  fire  in  his  soul  was  burning,  though 
it  burned  low ;  yet  it  kindled  up  with  this  new  material  brought 
fresh  to  his  hand.  Let  us  learn  that  souls  may  be  won  in  the  work- 
shop as  well  as  in  the  church,  by  private  conversation  as  well  as  by 
public  preaching.  If  only  there  be  the  heart  to  speak  for  Christ, 
there  need  never  lack  an  opportunity  for  soul-winning. 

III.— AT  IT  AGAIN. 

Paul  was  not  a  man  to  be  long  depressed,  idle,  or  unfruitful  in 
his  service  for  Christ.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not  now  spend  all  the 
days  of  the  week  in  preaching  and  talking  in  the  market-places. 
There  was  present  necessity  for  him  to  earn  some  money  for  his 
support,  and  so  he  thus  occupied  his  days ;  but  during  all  the  weeks 
of  his  engagement  with  Aquila  he  found  time  for  public  service. 
Once  a  man  gets  a  taste  of  soul-winning,  he  cannot  keep  out  of  that 
work  long.  He  may  have  his  periods  of  discouragement  and  depres- 
sion ;  he  may  be  in  secular  employ ;  but  give  up  work  for  God  he 
cannot  if  ever  he  has  been  rightly  in  it. 

1.  In  the  synagogues. — Every  Sabbath-day  he  went  to  the 
synagogue,  and  there,  according  to  custom,  he  reasoned  with  the 
Jews,  endeavoring  to  persuade  both  them  and  the  Greeks,  many  of 
whom  also  attended  the  synagogues,  either  as  "  out-and-out  prose- 


AT    IT   AGAIN.  245 

lytes,"  or  men  weary  with  idolatry  and  sin,  and  who  were  attracted  by 
the  religion  of  the  Jews.  We  fancy  these  '^ reasoning,"  calm,  and  ear- 
nest, but  not  reaching  to  the  height  of  direct  and  vehement  appeal. 
He  was  laying  foundations  for  more  aggressive  ministry  presently. 

2.  The  arrival  of  friends. — At  this  juncture,  after  several 
weeks,  Silas  and  Timotheus  came  over  from  Thessalonica  and  joined 
Paul  in  Corinth.  It  must  have  been  a  great  joy  and  comfort  to  him 
to  welcome  these  cherished  friends  to  Corinth.  They  were  a  wel- 
come reinforcement,  and  tended  greatly  to  strengthen  his  hands  and 
to  inspire  him  with  a  new  zeal  for  the  work.  We  all  of  us  know 
something  of  the  effect  of  such  reinforcements  upon  our  own  minds 
and  hearts,  and  also  upon  our  efforts. 

3.  Opposition  in  the  synagogue. — From  the  moment  of  the 
arrival  of  his  friends  Paul  seems  to  have  taken  a  more  direct  and 
positive  tone  in  his  preaching.  He  ceased  to  reason  with  his  hearers, 
and  began  to  testify  to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  He  was 
''pressed  in  spirit"  to  do  this.  The  conviction  of  the  truth,  his 
longing  desire  to  see  his  countrymen  embrace  Christ,  and  jealousy 
for  Christ  himself,  all  stirred  within  him  by  the  Spirit,  until  he  be- 
came vehement  and  insistent  in  his  pressure  upon  the  Jews.  This 
provoked  them  to  anger  and  opposition.  Probably  Paul  pointed  out 
to  them  the  sin  of  their  rejection  of  Christ,  and  identified  it  with  that 
of  the  whole  nation,  who  had  rejected  and  crucified  him.  At  any 
rate  they  resented  his  labors,  assumed  an  attitude  of  active  opposi- 
tion, and  began  to  blaspheme  (most  likely  the  name  of  Jesus).  This 
brought  to  an  end  all  their  work  in  the  synagogue. 

4.  Paul  turns  from  the  Jews. — Paul,  having  just  cause  for 
what  he  did,  and  seeing  that  further  work  with  the  Jews  was  useless, 
and  yet,  we  can  well  believe,  with  a  sad  heart  though  an  indignant 
one,  turned  from  the  Jews,  and  like  an  old  prophet,  "shook  his 
raiment  and  said  unto  them  :  Your  blood  be  upon  your  own  heads  " 
— no  doubt  having  in  mind  Ezekiel  xxxiii,  7-9.  He  had  cleared  his 
skirts  of  their  blood  by  fairly  teaching  and  warning  them.  If  now 
they  deliberately  rejected  Christ  and  thus  committed  spiritual  sui- 
cide, the  guilt  of  it  was  upon  their  own  heads  and  not  upon  his  soul. 
There  comes  a  time  when  it  is  folly  to  press  men  further,  and  we 
must  leave  them ;  but  let  us  be  sure  that  we  do  not  turn  away  in 
anger  before  we  have  exhausted  every  means  for  their  salvation. 
With  this  incident  begins  the  breach  between  Paul  and  the  Jews, 
and  he  becomes  more  and  more  committed  to  the  Gentiles.  The 
Rubicon  was  crossed,  the  bridges  burnt,  and  henceforth  the  Gospel 
is  fairlv  launched  in  Gentile  waters. 


!iO  PAUL   AT   CORINTH. 


IV.— A  NEW  DEPARTURE. 

Having  abandoned  the  Jews  per  force,  he  had  to  give  up  the 
synagogue  as  a  place  of  preaching.     A  new  place  must  be  found. 

1.  The  house  of  Justus. — Paul  departed  from  Athens  and 
came  to  Corinth ;  he  now  departed  thence  from  the  synagogue  and 
took  refuge  in  the  house  of  Justus,  a  proselyte  who  lived  next  door 
to  the  synagogue.  This  was  henceforth  to  be  his  headquarters,  and 
thither  both  those  Jews  who  had  not  hardened  their  hearts  and  the 
Greeks  who  were  interested  might  resort.  This  Justus  was  a  man 
'Hhat  worshiped  God" — a  kind  of  Cornelius  in  Corinth,  who,  no 
doubt,  like  Cornelius  and  Aquila,  became  converts  to  Christ.  If  one 
door  is  shut  to  us  it  is  pretty  certain  that  God  will  open  another, 
and  sometimes  hard  by. 

2.  The  conversion  of  Crispus. — Here  was  a  bit  of  encourage- 
ment for  Paul.  The  principal  Jews  of  the  synagogue  had  headed 
the  opposition  which  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  Paul.  After  he  had 
taken  up  his  abode  with  Justus,  there  came  out  with  him  one  Cris- 
pus, the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  ''with  all  his  house,"  openly  con- 
fessed the  Lord,  and  was  (as  we  learn  elsewhere)  baptized  by  Paul's 
own  hands.  It  needed  just  this  opposition  to  bring  Crispus  out  into 
open  confession,  just  as  it  needed  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  to  bring 
out  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea  into  open  confession.  This 
family  was  a  great  acquisition,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  church 
at  Corinth.     Thank  God,  at  last  the  work  began  to  move. 

3.  The  conversion  of  the  Corinthians. — By  this  time  there 
was  no  small  stir  in  that  part  of  the  city.  Many  of  the  Corinthians 
were  drawn  to  the  house  of  Justus,  and,  hearing  the  Gospel,  believed 
and  were  baptized.  Thus  the  work  spread  and  increased,  and  be- 
lievers were  daily  added  to  the  number  already  confessing  Christ. 

v.— GOOD  CHEER. 

The  narrative  here  is  very  brief ;  but  it  is  evident  that  a  storm 
was  brewing,  most  likely  from  the  Jewish  quarter.  The  defection 
of  Crispus  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  Jews  who  had  opposed  Paul. 
They  saw  that  he  was  winning  strength  every  day  with  both  Jews 
and  Greeks.  Perhaps  they  had  also  heard  from  Thessalonica,  where 
the  Jews  were  very  bitter  and  aggressive.  Something  had  occurred 
to  incline  Paul  to  leave  Corinth.  We  may  be  sure  that  it  was  not 
cowardice,  but  perhaps  a  sort  of  discouraged  prudence,  and  a  great 


GOOD   CHEER.  247 

hesitancy  to  become  the  object  and  center  of  another  riot.     It  was 
a  crisis  with  him,  and  it  was  beautifully  met  and  passed. 

1.  The  appearance  of  Jesus. — At  this  crisis  there  appeared 
to  Paul  in  the  night  a  vision  of  Jesus.  Most  likely,  in  this  case, 
Jesus  was  actually  present.  More  than  once  had  this  honor  been 
vouchsafed  to  him.  He  was  fighting  a  great  battle,  and  almost  sin- 
gle handed.  It  was  meet  that  he  should  have  extraordinary  encour- 
agement and  help.  Such  encouragement  and  help  God  will  not 
withhold  from  any  of  his  servants  who  are  faithfully  fighting  his 
battles  with  the  forces  of  sin  and  the  powers  of  darkness. 

2.  The  message. — Jesus  spake  to  Paul  in  the  vision  and  said  to 
him  words  which  must  have  turned  his  muscles  into  steel  and  his 
heart  into  flint  for  hardness  of  purpose  and  determination,  (i)  ''Be 
not  afraid."  Then  Paul  had  been  a  little  afraid  of  bodily  injury. 
Well,  no  wonder !  The  bruises  of  the  rods  on  his  back  were  yet 
scarcely  healed,  and  the  rough  experiences  he  had  had  at  Thessa- 
lonica  and  Berea  had  shaken  him  considerably.  No  wonder  if  there 
was  a  physical  shrinking  from  another  similar  experience.  Was 
this  to  be  the  constant  and  invariable  lot  meted  out  to  him?  In 
every  city  was  he  to  be  set  upon  and  beaten  and  stoned?  No  !  God 
had  proved  him,  and  now  he  will  give  him  rest  from  persecution, 
(ii)  "Speak."  The  testimony  must  now  be  kept  up.  It  was  a  time 
to  speak  out  boldly.  "Let  it  be  done."  This  was  no  time  for  run- 
ning away  or  for  silence,  (iii)  "Hold  not  thy  peace."  The  ball 
was  at  his  foot,  let  him  keep  it  rolling  and  he  would  soon  reach  the 
goal,  (iv)  '*  I  am  with  thee."  This  is  the  original  promise  renewed. 
It  must  have  been  sweet  music  to  Paul's  soul.  If  the  Master  was  to 
be  with  him  and  stand  by  him,  then  it  mattered  not  what  might 
come,  he  would  stand  his  ground  and  live  or  die  with  equal  delight, 
(v)  "No  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee."  Here  is  a  safeguard 
offered.  Henceforth  Paul  was  to  fight  behind  unseen  walls  and  in  a 
fortress  that  was  impregnable.  Besides,  even  if  in  the  open,  God 
could  restrain  the  wrath  of  men  and  hold  back  every  uplifted  hand. 
How  precious  to  know  that  relief  is  always  possible  and  sure  when- 
ever it  is  best  that  it  should  come !  Sometimes  it  is  best  that  the 
battle-field  should  be  watered  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs ;  some- 
times it  is  necessary  for  the  servants  of  God  to  go  to  prison  in  order 
to  win  the  jailer ;  or  to  be  stoned  as  Stephen  was  in  order  that  Saul 
of  Tarsus  might  be  convicted  of  sin  and  convinced  of  the  truth. 

3.  God's  hidden  ones. — We  look  over  a  vast  city  or  congrega- 
tion, and  we  see  people  from  the  outside  only.  But  God  sees  the 
hearts,  and  he  saw  that  in  that  city  there  were  many  people  who 


248  PAUL   AT   COKINTII. 

would  receive  the  Gospel.  Paul  must  uot  go  away,  because  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  have  the  testimony.  God  already  claimed 
them  as  his  own,  though  as  yet  they  were  not  converted.  He  who 
saw  Nathanael  before  he  was  under  the  fig-tree,  who  saw  the  Eunuch 
riding  in  his  chariot  studying  Isaiah,  now  saw  many  people  in  this 
city  of  Corinth  whose  hearts  were  honest  and  who  would  believe 
when  they  heard.  So  God  has  his  hidden  ones  in  every  city.  Let 
this  encourage  us ;  though  we  do  not  see  or  know  them,  God  does, 
and  he  will  bring  them  to  the  light. 

4.  A  year  and  six  months. — And  so  Paul  continued  a  year  and 
six  months  in  that  city,  teaching  the  word  of  God  among  them.  It 
takes  time  to  evangelize  a  city  or  a  district,  and  the  workers  need  to 
have  patience,  and,  if  need  be,  abide  a  year  and  six  months,  or  even 
three  whole  years,  as  Paul  did  in  Ephesus.  May  God  give  us  pa- 
tience as  well  as  courage  and  good  cheer  with  which  to  do  his  work. 


XXXI. 

PAUL  AT   EPHESUS.— Acts  xix,    1-12. 

(1)  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  while  Apollos  was  at  Corinth,  Paul  hav- 
ing passed  through  the  upper  coasts  came  to  Ephesus ;  and  finding  certain 
disciples,  (2)  He  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye 
believed?  And  they  said  unto  him.  We  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether 
there  be  any  Holy  Ghost.  (3)  And  he  said  unto  them,  Unto  what  then  were 
ye  baptized?  And  they  said,  Unto  John's  baptism.  (4)  Then  said  Paul, 
John  verily  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  repentance,  saying  unto  the  peo- 
ple, that  they  should  believe  on  him  which  should  come  after  him,  that  is, 
on  Christ  Jesus.  (5)  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  baptized  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  (6)  And  when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon  them,  the 
Holy  Ghost  came  on  them ;  and  they  spake  with  tongues,  and  prophesied. 
(7)  And  all  the  men  were  about  twelve.  (8)  And  he  went  into  the  syna- 
gogue, and  spake  boldly  for  the  space  of  three  months,  disputing  and  per- 
suading the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God.  (9)  But  when  divers 
were  hardened,  and  believed  not,  but  spake  evil  of  that  way  before  the 
multitude,  he  departed  from  them,  and  separated  the  disciples,  disputing 
daily  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus.  (10)  And  this  continued  by  the  space 
of  two  years ;  so  that  all  they  which  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  word  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  both  Jews  and  Greeks.  (11)  And  God  Avrought  special  miracles 
by  the  hands  of  Paul :  (12)  So  that  from  his  body  were  brought  unto  the 
sick  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and 
the  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them.— Acts  xix,  1-12. , 

During  the  latter  part  of  Paul's  stay  at  Corinth  the  Jews  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  up  a  turbulent  insurrection  against  him,  and  had 
him  summoned  before  Gallio,  the  Roman  proconsul,  who,  when  he 
heard  the  ground  of  their  complaint,  dismissed  the  Apostle  with 
courtesy  and  drove  the  Jews  out  of  his  court  with  contempt.  Thus 
God  raised  up  a  friend  for  Paul  in  an  utterly  indifferent  unbeliever. 
The  Greeks  in  reprisal  set  upon  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue  and 
beat  him.  Some  time  after  this  Paul  left  Corinth  to  make  a  special 
visit  to  Jerusalem,  there  to  fulfill  some  vow,  the  nature  of  which  we 
do  not  know.  He  took  wdth  him  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  accom- 
panied him  as  far  as  Ephesus,  and  there  remained.  Paul  tarried  in 
Ephesus  over  one  Sabbath  and  proceeded  rapidly  to  Jerusalem,  hav- 
ing promised  the  Ephesian  Jews  to  return  to  their  city  after  having 
accomplished  his  business  at  Jerusalem.  Having  finished  at  Jeru- 
salem he  called  at  Antioch,  and  then  started  on  his  retiirn  to  Ephesus 
overland,  visiting  the  churches  scattered  through  the  mountainous 


250  PAUL  AT   EPHESUS. 

districts  of  Asia  Minor,  In  the  meantime,  after  Paul  had  left 
Ephesus  there  came  to  that  city  a  very  remarkable  man,  Apollos  by 
name,  a  native  of  Alexandria.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  deep 
knowledge  of  the  Scripture,  for  his  fervent  zeal  and  piety,  and 
especially  for  his  unequaled  eloquence  and  ability  in  logic.  It  seems 
that,  Jew  though  he  was,  he  had  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
teachings  of  John  the  Baptist,  either  at  first  hand,  before  Christ's 
ministry  began,  or  at  second  hand,  through  some  of  John's  disciples. 
He  had  embraced  the  teachings  of  the  Baptist  concerning  the  near 
advent  of  the  Messiah,  and  had  been  baptized  in  that  faith.  He 
had  not  heard  of  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  nor  of 
the  subsequent  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  not  wonder- 
ful, considering  the  fact  that  the  story  of  these  great  events  was 
just  now  penetrating  beyond  the  boundaries  of  western  Asia.  At 
Alexandria  they  had  not  yet  heard  these  things.  Apollos,  however, 
was  a  burning  witness  of  the  "  things  of  the  Lord  " — that  is,  of  Christ 
as  set  forth  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  He  was  diligent  in 
propagating  the  doctrines  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  boldly  spoke 
these  things  in  the  synagogues.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  recognized  in 
this  eloquent  man  a  kindred  spirit,  and  saw  that  he  was  practically 
one  with  the  Christians,  though  he  was  evidently  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  the  Messiah  whom  he  was  preaching  was  at  hand,  had  al- 
ready come,  had  been  crucified  and  raised  from  the  dead.  They 
therefore  took  him  to  their  house,  and  themselves  having  been  fully 
informed  of  all  these  things  by  Paul,  they  in  turn  taught  Apollos  in 
the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly ;  that  is,  they  filled  up  to  him 
what  he  had  hitherto  lacked  in  the  knowledge  of  the  facts.  Apollos 
eagerly  accepted  the  further  facts  and  truths  concerning  Jesus,  and 
at  once  became  an  eloquent  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Having  learned 
of  Aquila  of  what  had  been  accomplished  in  Corinth,  he  was  moved 
with  desire  to  visit  that  city,  hoping  and  believing  that  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Paul  he  might  be  of  help  and  use  to  that  new  church.  His 
ministry  there  was,  we  know,  mighty,  and  though  he  watered  what 
Paul  had  planted,  he  was  the  unconscious  means  of  making  a  party 
in  the  church  in  this  city.  (Acts  xviii,  24-28;  I.  Cor.  iii,  1-8.) 
Good  men  may  be  made  the  instruments  in  the  hands  of  bad  men  to 
accomplish  their  purposes.  Wise  men  may  be  used  by  unwise  men 
to  work  unconscious  mischief  in  the  Church  of  God.  No  doubt  this 
was  the  misfortune  of  Apollos.  He  was  so  eloquent  and  powerful  a 
preacher  that  he  drew  men  to  him  in  passionate  devotion.  Some  of 
Paul's  converts  grew  jealous  of  this  rising  star,  and  resented  the  pre- 
eminence he  was  attaining  in  Corinth ;  and  so  parties  arose,  some 


THE   TWELVE   EPHESIAN   DISCIPLES.  1151 

for  Paul  and  some  for  Apollos.     We  must  now  return  to  Paul  and 
the  events  whicli  were  occurring  in  Ephesus. 

I.— THE  TWELVE  EPHESIAN  DISCIPLES. 

Apollos  had  left  Ephesus  some  time  before  Paul  had  returned. 
On  the  return  of  the  latter  to  Ephesus  according  to  his  promise,  he 
found  certain  disciples  there  who  in  some  way  attracted  his  particu- 
lar attention.  They  were  evidently  disciples,  consorting  with  the 
believers,  and  belonging  to  the  advanced  party  of  the  Jews.  Yet 
there  was  evidently  something  lacking  in  them.  Perhaj^s  they  were 
severe  in  their  manners,  austere  in  their  practices,  and  wanting  in 
that  joyfulness  which  characterized  the  early  Christians.  At  any 
rate,  Paul  was  not  a  man  to  live  in  the  dark  in  respect  to  any  man 
or  set  of  men  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  So  in  his  straightfor- 
ward manner  he  sought  these  twelve  men  out  (they  seemed  to  have 
been  a  little  party  by  themselves  standing  between  the  unbelieving 
Jews  and  the  Christians)  and  inquired  of  them  as  to  the  nature  of 
their  faith  and  experience.  He  asked  them  the  direct  question: 
"Did  ye  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  when  ye  believed?"  This  is  the 
true  reading  of  the  passage.  To  which  they  replied  that  they  had 
heard  nothing  about  the  Holy  Ghost,  neither  at  the  time  of  their 
baptism  nor  since.  Paul  then  inquii'ed  unto  what  they  had  been 
baptized ;  that  is,  what  was  the  nature  of  the  doctrine  they  had  re- 
ceived and  the  present  object  of  their  faith.  To  this  they  made 
answer  that  they  had  been  baptized  unto  John's  baptism.  This  was 
the  explanation  of  the  matter.  Like  Apollos  they  had  heard  of 
John's  ministry,  and  the  things  of  the  Lord  as  interpreted  by  that 
gi'eat  prophet-preacher,  and  had  embraced  the  hope  of  the  coming 
Messiah.  They  had  heartily  yielded  themselves  up  as  penitent  be- 
lievers in  the  coming  Christ,  but  had  not  since  heard  that  Jesus  had 
actually  come,  ''died  for  their  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and 
been  raised  again  from  the  dead."  John  indeed  had  preached  that 
when  Jesus  came  he  would  baptize  the  disciples  with  the  Holy 
Ghost;  but  since  these  disciples  had  not  heard  of  the  coming  of 
Christ  as  an  accomplished  event,  and  the  subsequent  pouring  out  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  they  had  not  of  course  received  that  great  gift  and 
blessing.  It  was  not  that  they  had  never  heard  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
at  all,  for  every  Jew  (and  these  were  Jews)  was  familiar  with  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God  and  his  work  among  the  people ;  but  they  had 
not  heard  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  special  gift  of  God  to  the  mem- 
bers of  Messiah's  kingdom — that  is,  to  the  personal  believers  in  Jesus 


252  PAUL  AT   EPHESUS. 

Christ,  not  as  the  coming  Saviour,  but  as  having  come,  died,  and  risen 
again  from  the  dead.  Paul  speaks  in  terms  of  profoundest  respect 
of  John's  ministry,  but  points  out  to  these  men  wherein  it  had 
come  short,  necessarily,  of  the  whole  truth,  and  then  instructs 
them  fully  in  the  great  facts  and  truths  concerning  Jesus  Christ, 
(v.  4.)  They  listened  to  this  communication  of  Paul  with  gladness, 
and  were  baptized  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Hitherto 
they  had  believed  that  Christ  was  coming,  and  in  view  of  his  near 
and  expected  advent  they  had  turned  from  their  old  life  and  were 
living  in  loyal  expectation  of  his  coming.  We  cannot  but  admire 
the  faithfulness  with  which  these  men  had  hung  on  to  the  hope  which 
John  had  set  before  them.  After  their  baptism  Paul  laid  his  hands 
upon  them  and  immediately  they  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  began  to  speak  with  tongues  and  to  prophesy.  This  was  the 
sign  given  especially  to  the  earlier  converts,  as  witness  the  case  of 
the  Pentecostal  converts,  and  to  the  Samaritan  believers,  as  well  as 
to  Cornelius  and  his  household.  In  their  peculiar  circumstances 
Paul  hardly  regarded  their  baptism  as  being  Christian,  inasmuch  as 
it  did  not  include  a  belief,  not  even  a  knowledge  of  Christ  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  But  the  essential  thing  with  him  was  not  so  much  the 
water  baptism  (which  was  most  likely  administered  by  some  one 
else)  as  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  consideration  of  the  whole 
matter  is  suggestive  of  several  thoughts  concerning  these  disciples. 

1.  They  were  disciples. — They  are  thus  spoken  of  before  they 
had  been  instructed  in  the  things  of  Christ  and  rebaptized.  They 
occupied  a  very  different  relation  toward  Christ  and  his  kingdom 
from  that  of  the  unbelieving  Jews.  They  had  practically  accepted 
him  in  the  promise  of  his  advent,  and  had  separated  themselves  unto 
him  from  their  old  Jewish  standing.  It  is  true  that  they  stood  as  it 
were  on  the  very  outer  edges  of  the  kingdom,  but  yet  were  recog- 
nized as  being  in  it.  They  occupied  a  different  position  from  that 
of  the  scribe  of  whom  Jesus  said :  "  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  king- 
dom of  God."  (Mark  xii,  34.)  He  was  not  far  from  the  kingdom; 
they  were  not  far  in  the  kingdom.  They  were  not  far  in,  it  is  true, 
but  then  they  were  in,  and  that  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world. 
This  wideness  in  God's  mercy  is  that  which  charms  us,  and  makes  us 
glad  to  welcome  among  the  disciples  those  who  are  on  the  very  out- 
ermost edges  of  the  kingdom.  Not  that  we  are  content  that  they 
should  stay  in  that  position,  but  that  we  are  glad  they  are  come  so 
far  in,  and  so  may  be  taken  by  the  hand  and  helped  on  their  way 
farther  in  and  higher  up. 

2.  They  were  defective  in  their  knowledge. — Now  it  is  of  the 


THE   TWELVE   EPHESIAN   DISCIPLES.  253 

utmost  importance  that  we  should  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Correct  and  thorough  teaching  in 
the  facts  and  doctrines  of  Christianity  is  certainly  essential  to  per- 
manency and  growth  in  the  divine  life  ;  but  one  may  be  saved  and 
be  a  true  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus  with  very  imperfect  knowledge 
of  him.  There  are  thousands  of  little  children  who  are  true  disciples 
of  Christ,  who  yet  do  not  understand  the  significance  of  the  atone- 
ment or  the  new  birth ;  that  is,  they  have  no  theological  knowledge 
of  it.  Yet  they  believe  in  Jesus  and  are  saved.  There  are  multi- 
tudes of  heathen  converts  here  in  India  whose  knowledge  of  these 
things  is  very  limited ;  yet  they  are  true  disciples.  They  are  Christ's 
little  ones,  whom  many  are  offending  most  grievously.  They  need 
much  teaching,  and  very  great  and  patient  handling,  but  they  are 
nevertheless  disciples,  and  must  be  acknowledged  as  such,  unless  we 
are  to  come  to  the  edge  of  the  sea  with  a  millstone  about  our  necks. 

3.  They  were  defective  in  their  experience. — As  disciples 
they  were  entitled  to  all  the  blessings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  as  yet 
they  were  short  of  that  blessed  experience  and  knew  nothing  of  it. 
They  did  not  know  that  such  a  blessing  was  in  store  for  them.  But 
are  there  not  many  Christians,  true  disciples,  among  us,  who,  though 
they  have  heard  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  seen  the  evidences  of  his 
presence  in  other  disciples,  are  themselves  without  the  personal  ex- 
perience of  his  teaching?  Does  not  this  account  for  the  presence  in 
the  Church  of  so  many  dull,  joyless,  inactive  disciples,  to  whom  the 
service  of  God  is  heaviness,  and  who  are  strangers  to  the  light  and 
happy  life  of  the  Spirit-filled  disciple  ?  Yet  they  are  disciples.  What 
they  need  is  what  these  Ephesian  disciples  needed,  a7id  obtained. 
The  same  blessing  is  in  reserve  for  all  who  will  seek  after  it.  "God 
is  more  willing  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  than  we 
are  to  give  good  gifts  to  our  children." 

4.  They  were  very  frank  and  humble. — When  questioned 
concerning  their  standing  and  experience  in  the  Christian  life  they 
did  not  take  offense,  and  turn  away  in  a  huff  from  the  Apostle,  but 
frankly  told  him  the  whole  truth  concerning  themselves,  frankly 
accepted  the  further  teaching  he  had  to  give  them,  and  immediately 
submitted  to  a  reljaptism  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  in  order  to  make  their 
standing  and  position  right  outwardly,  and  in  order  to  rectify  and 
complete  so  far  their  own  spiritual  life.  Teachableness  and  humility 
were  sure  signs  that  these  untaught  disciples  were,  after  all,  true 
disciples.  That  man  is  far  from  the  kingdom,  whatever  his  profes- 
sion may  be,  who  is  not  willing  to  be  taught,  and  who  resents  any 
inquiry  into  the  state  of  his  spiritual  life. 


254  PAUL   AT   EPHESUS. 

5.  They  were  progressive. — There  are  some  professors  of  re- 
ligion who  resent  any  experience  that  is  in  advance  of  their  own.  K 
some  one  intimates  to  them  that  there  is  a  plane  of  life  higher  than 
that  on  which  they  are  living ;  or  an  experience  of  power  which  they 
do  not  possess ;  or  a  measure  of  joyfulness  to  which  they  are 
strangers ;  or  a  state  of  victory  over  sin  which  they  have  never  known 
— they  set  it  down  at  once  to  fanaticism,  and  withdraw  themselves 
as  far  as  possible  in  the  opposite  direction.  Their  answer  to  the 
doctrine  of  assurance  is  to  boast  of  their  doubts  ;  their  answer  to  the 
doctrine  of  holiness  and  the  keeping  power  of  God  is  a  loose,  worldly 
life,  and  a  certain  kind  of  pride  in  their  many  falls  and  failings, 
which  they  confess  with  a  mock  spirit  of  humility,  as  if  humility 
consisted  in  the  acknowledgment  of  sinful  indulgence.  This  kind  of 
humility,  which  refuses  to  "go  on  to  perfection,"  to  "perfecting  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  God,"  to  ''follow  on  to  know  the  Lord,"  is  often 
nothing  more  than  spiritual  stubbornness,  downright  laziness,  or 
a  cloak' for  the  indulgence  of  the  flesh.  These  disciples,  however, 
were  of  a  different  sort.  They  did  not  dishonor  their  old  master  John 
the  Baptist  by  leaving  him  for  Christ,  nor  their  repentance  when 
they  went  on  to  faith.  Indeed,  this  progressive  spirit  of  theirs  put 
honor  on  the  very  past  things  which  they  left.  The  true  motto  of 
the  Christian  is  that  of  Paul :  "  Forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I 
press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus." 

6.  They  were  richly  rewarded  for  their  teachableness  and 
obedience  to  the  advanced  truth. — So  soon  as  they  had  been  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  thus  took  their  forward  stand  and 
position,  the  Apostle  laid  his  hands  upon  them  and  they  received  a 
wonderful  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  showed  itself  at  once 
in  two  familiar  ways :  they  began  to  speak  with  tongues  and  to 
prophesy.  What  a  change  had  come  over  those  heavy-eyed,  sad- 
faced,  and  austere  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist !  They  stepped  as 
it  were  out  of  a  darkened  chamber  into  the  broad  sunlight.  They 
became  almost  new  creatures.  So  it  is  with  all  disciples  who  have 
been  living  below  their  privileges  in  Christ,  if,  when  they  see  the 
truth,  they  step  into  it,  and  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord.  The  dis- 
tance between  a  joyful,  triumphant,  and  useful  life  and  a  joyless, 
broken,  and  useless  one  is  oftentimes  but  a  step.  Wliy  shall  not  all 
of  us  who  are  living  in  the  shadows  of  life  take  that  step,  and  hence- 
forth live  in  God's  sunshine? 


PAUL   IN   THE   SYNAGOGUE.  255 


II.— PAUL  IN  THE   SYNAGOGUE. 

The  break  which  occurred  between  the  Apostle  and  the  Jews  at 
Corinth  (not  to  speak  of  all  that  he  had  suffered  at  their  hands  else- 
where) did  not  quench  the  deep  and  tender  love  which  he  had  for 
them,  and  the  longing  desire  he  always  felt  for  their  salvation.  He 
had  indeed  been  well  received  by  the  Jews  at  Ephesus  as  he  passed 
through  on  his  way  from  Corinth  to-  Jerusalem,  which  led  to  a 
promise  on  his  part  to  revisit  the  city.  Having  met  with  and  cor- 
rected the  faulty  type  of  faith  in  the  twelve  disciples  of  John  the 
Baptist  whom  he  found  on  his  first  return,  he  is  next  found  in  the 
synagogue  as  his  custom  was. 

1.  A  three  months'  siege. — Paul  was  not  a  man  who  ever  did 
things  by  halves.  We  are  struck  everywhere  with  the  fact  of  his 
persistency  and  the  time  element  in  his  work.  It  is  true  that  he 
tarried  but  a  little  while  in  Athens,  but  there  was  special  reason  for 
that  sudden  change  of  base.  Here  in  Ephesus  he  stayed  altogether 
three  years.  In  the  beginning  he  spent  three  months  exclusively 
with  the  Jews,  and  went  "  into  the  synagogue  and  spake  boldly,  .  .  . 
disputing  and  persuading  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
God."  We  understand  by  disputing  not  angry  controversy  or  con- 
tradiction, but  earnest  argument  conducted  by  asking  and  answer- 
ing questions  on  either  side.  Religious  convictions  are  not  easily 
changed,  and  especially  are  not  religious  prejudices  easily  overcome. 
Patient,  bold,  and  earnest  persistency  is  required,  if  we  are  to  win 
even  with  the  truth,  a  victory  over  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  bigotry. 

2.  The  hardening  of  the  heart. — The  truth  received  and 
submitted  to,  softens  and  converts  the  heart,  and  works  renewal  of 
nature ;  but  the  truth  persistently  controverted  and  stubbornly  re- 
sisted, hardens  the  heart.  Among  the  Jews  here,  there  were  some 
who  hardened  their  hearts,  and  would  not  receive  the  truth  ;  that  is, 
they  rejected  the  truth  against  their  own  conviction.  The  result 
was  that  they  were  hardened  against  Jesus  Christ,  '^  To-day  if  ye 
will  hear  his  voice  harden  not  your  hearts."  (Ps.  xcv,  8;  Eom.  xi, 
7;  Heb.  iii,  13.)  This  because  unbelief  willfully  indulged  deadens 
the  religious  sensibilities  and  destroys  the  power  of  the  soul  to 
believe.  Nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  for  a  man  willfully  to  set 
himself  against  an  honest  conviction,  especially  if  it  be  a  spiritual 
one. 

3.  Separation  from  unbelievers. — The  Jews  were  not  content 
with  simply  rejecting  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  to  Christ,  but 


256  I'vVUL  AT   EPHESUS. 

having  rejected  Christ,  they  began  to  do  as  the  Jews  had  done  in 
Corinth — they  ''spake  evil  of  that  way  before  the  multitude."  This 
is  not  a  simple  argument  against  Christ,  but  it  was  an  abusive,  blas- 
phemous tone  which  they  took  up  toward  Jesus,  ''  that  Way."  They 
revived  and  retailed  with  additions  the  scandals  and  blasphemies 
which  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  had  hurled  at  Christ.  Paul  would  have 
borne  any  amount  of  evil  spoken  against  himself ;  but  when  they 
began  to  speak  evil  of  his  Lord,  then  it  was  time  for  him  to  desist 
from  all  further  communion  with  them.  So  he  "departed  from 
them."  We  do  not  know  that  he  shook  his  garment  and  pronounced 
the  judgment  of  ''  blood  guiltiness  "  upon  them  as  he  did  in  Corinth  ; 
but  he  turned  his  back  finally  upon  the  synagogue,  though  he  gladly 
continued  to  preach  to  such  Jews  as  would  come  to  him.  There  is 
a  time  when,  reluctant  as  we  may  be  to  do  it,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  separate  ourselves. 

4.  The  church  at  Ephesus. — This  separation  of  Paul  from  the 
synagogue,  at  which  time  he  carried  away  with  him  all  the  disciples, 
the  twelve,  and  such  Jews  from  the  sjTiagogue  as  believed,  to  ''the 
school  of  one  Tyrannus,"  whom  we  assume  to  have  been  a  disciple, 
and  there  "the  church  which  is  at  Ephesus"  was  formed.  As  the 
house  of  Justus  hard  by  the  synagogue  in  Corinth  offered  a  place  of 
meeting  for  the  young  church  there,  so  the  school-room  of  Tyrannus 
offered  a  refuge  for  the  young  church  here.  We  do  not  read  that 
either  of  these  houses  was  specially  consecrated  for  the  purpose. 
In  apostolic  times  the  people  were  of  much  more  importance  than 
the  church  building,  as  the  words  and  doctrines  that  proceeded  out 
of  the  preacher's  mouth  were  of  more  importance  than  the  vest- 
ments in  which  he  was  arrayed. 

III.— SPECIAL  MIRACLES. 

Ephesus,  though  a  Greek  city,  was  in  Asia,  and  the  great  Diana 
of  the  Ephesians  was  more  of  an  Indian  deity  than  a  Greek  goddess. 
The  type  of  idol-worship  there  also  partook  more  of  the  Eastern 
than  of  Western  character.  Gross  superstition  prevailed  among 
the  people ;  exorcists,  magicians,  and  wonder-workers  throve  on  all 
hands.  They  were  as  full  of  tricks  and  wonderful  works  as  were  the 
Egyptian  magicians.  In  such  circumstances,  and  just  on  the  same 
principle  that  God  gave  special  power  to  Moses  to  outwork  the  ma- 
gicians in  Egypt,  so  here  God  gave  it  to  Paul  to  work  special  mira- 
cles. They  were  out  of  the  common,  and  calculated  peculiarly  to 
impress  and  persuade  the  minds  of  a  people  who  had  been  educated 


SPECIAL   MIRACLES.  257 

as  had  the  Ephesians.  The  peculiar  character  of  the  miracles  was 
in  the  fact  that  Paul  did  not  work  them  directly,  but  indirectly,  by 
means  of  handkerchiefs  and  aprons  taken  from  his  body,  which,  when 
they  were  laid  on  the  sick,  wrought  cure,  and  when  brought  in  con- 
tact with  those  possessed  of  devils  it  exorcised  them.  There  is  a 
hint  of  this  kind  of  miracle  in  the  case  of  the  woman  who  stole  a 
blessing  by  touching  the  hem  of  our  Lord's  outer  garment ;  and  in 
the  case  of  people  being  healed  on  whom  the  shadow  of  Peter  fell. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  attempt  to  explain  such  things.  It  is 
enough  that  it  pleased  God  to  show  to  these  ignorant,  superstitious 
people  that  his  was  a  real  and  a  beneficent  power ;  that  his  Gospel 
carried  life  and  healing  with  it. 


XXX 11. 

PAUL  AT    MILETUS.— Acts  xx,  22-35. 

(22)  And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not 
knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there:  (23)  Save  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide 
me.  (24)  But  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear 
unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry, 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God.  (25)  And  now,  behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone 
preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more.  (26)  Wherefore 
I  take  you  to  record  this  day,  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men. 

(27)  For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God. 

(28)  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock,  over  the 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  church  of  God, 
which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  (29)  For  I  know  this,  that 
after  my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing 
the  flock.  (30)  Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse 
things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.  (31)  Therefore  watch,  and  re- 
member, that  by  the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one 
night  and  day  with  tears.  (32)  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God, 
and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you 
an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified.  (33)  I  have  coveted 
no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  (34)  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know,  that 
these  hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were 
with  me.  (35)  I  have  shewed  you  all  things,  how  that  so  labouring  ye  ought 
to  support  the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. — Acts  xx,  2^35. 

After  three  years  of  extraordinary  labor  in  Ephesiis,  the  ministry 
of  Paul  closed  amidst  battle  and  storm,  (xix,  13-41.)  So  power- 
fully and  effectually  had  he  preached  the  Word  to  both  Jew  and 
Greek,  that  the  whole  city  felt  the  influence  of  his  words,  and  not 
only  were  the  converts  affected  by  the  Word  of  God,  but  the  very 
heathen  themselves  who  did  not  become  out-and-out  Christians 
were  in  a  measure  weaned  from  the  grosser  forms  of  their  idolatry. 
There  were  certain  tradesmen,  artificers,  who  made  their  living  by 
making  small  idols,  images  of  Diana,  and  shrines  both  for  the  home 
and  for  offering.  These  tradesmen  began  to  feel  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  when  their  customers  fell  off.  The  demand  for  their  wares 
was  sensibly  affected  by  the  preaching  of  Paul.  Ostensibly  in  the 
interests  of  the  great  goddess,  but  really  in  their  own  selfish  inter- 


PAUL  UNDER  ORDERS.  259 

est,  these  tradesmen  (under  the  leadership  of  one  Demetrius,  a  sil- 
versmith) succeeded  in  working  upon  the  prejudices  and  supersti- 
tions of  the  populace  to  such  an  extent  that  a  mob  was  assembled, 
determined  to  arrest  Paul  and  carry  him  before  the  magistrates,  and 
by  sheer  force  succeed  in  getting  him  disposed  of.  They  failed, 
however,  to  find  Paul,  and  seized  upon  two  of  his  companions. 
Paul  would  have  stood  loyally  by  his  friends,  and  even  assayed  to  go 
in  unto  the  people  either  to  reason  with  them  or  to  take  his  place  by 
the  side  of  his  brethren  in  the  fray.  He  was  dissuaded  from  doing  so, 
however,  by  certain  chiefs  of  Asia  who  were  his  friends.  The  mob 
came  to  nothing,  except  to  provoke  a  scandal  in  the  city  and  bring 
it  under  the  censure  of  the  superior  authorities  of  the  province. 
After  the  tumult  had  ceased  Paul  gathered  the  disciples  together 
(xx,  1),  and  bidding  them  farewell,  departed,  according  to  a  previ- 
ous plan,  to  Macedonia.  Visiting  several  places  on  the  way,  he  came 
at  length  into  Greece,  and  thence  again  through  Macedonia  on  his 
way  to  Jerusalem,  turning  back  upon  his  route  because  the  Jews 
were  lying  in  wait  for  him  on  the  other  route  which  he  had  in- 
tended taking.  At  last  we  find  him  at  Troas,  and  then  at  Miletus, 
not  far  from  Ephesus.  There  he  tarried  and  sent  for  the  elders  of 
the  church  in  that  city  to  have  a  last  conference  with  them  before 
proceeding  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  desired  to  be  on  the 
coming  feast  of  Pentecost,     (v.  16.) 

In  the  address  which  he  delivered  to  them  there  is  every  evidence 
of  deep  feeling  and  great  tenderness  on  the  Apostle's  part.  He  first 
calls  their  attention  to  his  own  conduct  as  a  man  and  a  minister 
among  them  for  the  past  three  years,  saying  in  all  humility  what  few 
men  or  ministers  can  or  could  say  for  themselves.  With  tears  and 
temptations  (trials)  he  had  wrought  on,  day  and  night,  in  public  and 
in  private,  keeping  back  nothing  of  the  truth,  but  urging  upon  all 
men  the  immediate  duty  and  the  supreme  pri^dlege  of  repentance 
toward  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Having  said  thus 
much  for  himself,  by  way  of  earning  or  justifying  his  right  to  speak 
to  them  further,  he  proceeds  with  his  address,     (v.  22.) 

I.— PAUL  UNDER  ORDERS. 

No  man  who  enters  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  is  in  any  true 
sense  his  own  master.  Like  a  soldier,  he  must  always  hold  himself 
in  readiness  to  go  or  come  at  the  command  of  the  Master.  Paul  was 
a  true  soldier  of  the  Cross.  He  knew  his  Master,  and  was  loyal  to 
the  heart's  core,  and  ready  at  any  time  to  lay  down  any  work,  how- 


260  PAUL  AT   MILETUS. 

ever  dear,  and  take  up  any  new  work,  however  dangerous.     Just  now 
lie  found  himself  under  fresh  marching  orders. 

1.  Bound  in  spirit. — "And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the 
Spirit  unto  Jerusalem."  By  this  he  means  that  the  Spirit  of  God  had 
laid  it  upon  him  that  he  •  must  go  up  to  Jerusalem.  The  command 
had  come  to  him  with  the  force  of  bonds.  He  had  no  option  in  the 
matter.  He  must  go.  There  is  a  suggestion  of  heaviness  of  spirit 
here,  not  because  he  was  unwilling  to  go,  but  that  there  was  a  pre- 
sentiment of  suffering  and  peril  in  the  mission  upon  which  he  was 
now  about  to  enter.  One  may  go  to  work  with  a  cheerful  will  even 
when  the  heart  is  oppressed  with  foreboding  and  dread.  Many  a 
soldier  has  gone  into  battle  with  an  enthusiasm  that  has  inspired  all 
about  him,  while  at  the  same  time  his  heart  was  like  lead  within  him, 
foreboding  his  own  death,  or  disaster  to  the  cause  he  loved. 

2.  Not  knowing. — "  Not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall 
me  there."  This  was  also  a  trial.  He  had  a  general  conviction  that 
he  would  be  in  great  and  deep  trouble,  but  he  did  not  know  what 
the  nature  of  the  trials  would  be.  This  is  harder  to  face  than  a 
known  danger.  If  we  know  what  is  to  befall  us  we  can  prepare  for 
it,  face  it,  and  take  it  cheerfully.  It  is  this  walking  in  darkness  and 
seeing  no  light,,  fighting  in  the  dark,  not  knowing  either  the  char- 
acter or  number  of  one's  foes,  that  is  so  trying  to  the  human  spirit 
and  so  testing  to  a  man's  courage.  Still  there  is  always  this  comfort 
to  the  Christian,  if  he  himself  does  not  know,  he  knows  that  there 
is  one  who  does,  and  that  he  is  over  all  things  for  good.  "  It  is  bet- 
ter to  walk  in  the  dark  with  God  than  to  go  alone  in  the  light." 

3.  Immovable. — "But  none  of  these  things  move  me."  He  had 
certain  intimations  from  Christian  prophets  that  "  bonds  and  afflic- 
tions "  awaited  him  at  Jerusalem,  but  what  the  end  of  it  all  would 
be  he  did  not  know.  However,  he  said :  "  None  of  these  things 
move  me."  They  did  not  make  him  hesitate  to  go ;  they  did  not 
tempt  him  to  ask  to  be  excused  from  the  service ;  they  did  not  raise 
any  doubts  in  his  mind  as  to  the  goodness  or  wisdom  of  God ;  what- 
ever might  be  the  outcome  of  it  all,  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  issue, 
nor  was  he  moved  from  the  steadfastness  of  his  service  and  devotion 
to  his  Master.  It  was  Paul  who  wrote  from  Philippi  to  the  Corin- 
thians, and  exhorted  them  to  be  "steadfast,  unmovable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord."  So  he  was  "unmovable "  him- 
self in  this  new  crisis  of  his  apostolic  life. 

4.  His  ministry. — Paul  was  called  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gos- 
pel by  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  to  him  more  than  life  itself.  He  would 
have  rather  laid  down  his  life  than  his  work.     "  Neither  count  I  my 


PAUL'S   FAREWELL.  261 

life  dear  unto  myself."  What  a  speech  is  this  !  How  ashamed  many 
of  us  ought  to  be.  We  count  not  life,  but  even  convenience  and 
personal  pleasure,  dear  to  ourselves  sometimes,  even  when  the  work 
of  God  is  pressing  and  urgent.  But  with  Paul  life  counted  for  very 
little  beside  his  ministry.  There  was  a  course  to  run,  there  was  a 
ministry  to  fulfill,  which  he  had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  to  Paul  was  both  a  distinguished  honor  and  a  sacred  trust.  To 
him  it  had  been  given  to  testify  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  both 
to  the  Jew  and  to  the  Greek.  His  commission  was  from  Heaven ;  he 
was  Heaven's  ambassador,  and  no  man  ever  wore  the  honors  of  that 
high  office  more  humbly  and  discharged  its  duties  more  worthily 
than  Paul ;  and  we  may  add  that  no  man  ever  took  gi'eater  and  more 
honorable  pride  in  having  been  found  worthy  to  be  so  intrusted.  Not 
until  this  high  idea  of  the  ministerial  calling  is  restored  to  the 
Church  will  there  be  a  retmm  of  apostolic  power. 

II.— PAUL'S  FAREWELL. 

Paul  must  have  been  deeply  attached  to  this  Ephesian  church : 
indeed,  he  could  not  be  otherwise  after  laboring  with  them  as  he 
had  done  for  three  years,  not  only  preaching  to  them  publicly,  but 
visiting  them  from  house  to  house.  He  knew  them  all  personally 
and  intimately.  To  many  of  them  his  heart  was  closely  knit.  The 
elders  of  the  church  who  had  now  come  out  to  meet  him  were  not 
only  his  brethren,  they  were  also  his  close  personal  friends.  They 
had  shared  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  the  church  together ; 
they  had  often  communed  and  sat  together  in  heavenly  places. 
Indeed,  the  whole  church  seems  to  have  been  one  of  peculiarly  heav- 
enly-mindedness.  One  cannot  read  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
without  saying:  '^Tliat  must  have  been  a  wonderfully  spiritual 
church."  What  high  truth  Paul  taught  them,  on  what  high  themes 
did  he  write  them  !  At  the  same  time  it  was  a  church  that  had  great 
need  for  watchfulness,  alertness,  and  steadiness  for  battle  with 
spiritual  powers  and  darkness  in  all  high  places.  To  them  Paul 
commended  "the  whole  armor  of  God,"  and  bade  them  quit  them- 
selves in  the  battle  like  men.     (Vide  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.) 

1.  A  final  farewell. — This  incident  has  been  made  the  basis  of 
many  a  farewell  sermon  and  parting  between  pastor  and  people ; 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  there  has  ever  been  a  parting  so  deeply  tender 
and  solemn  as  this  one.  Paul  knew  that  it  was  final.  How  he  knew 
it  we  do  not  know.  He  did  not  know  what  the  end  of  his  visit  to 
Jerusalem  would  be,  but  he  knew  that  he  would  never  look  into  the 


262  PAUL  AT   MILETUS. 

faces  of  those  beloved  brethren  again.  He  could  not  but  associate 
with  them  all  his  labor  and  ministry.  He  remembered  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  conversion  of  each  one  of  them.  This  tender 
touch  is  brought  out  in  his  words :  *'  Among  whom  I  have  gone 
preachingthe  kingdom  of  God."  "Iknowthatye  .  .  .  shall  see  my  face 
no  more."  Their  broken  sobs  and  tears  well-nigh  broke  his  heart. 
Nor  were  they  less  affected  than  he,  for  "they  all  wept  sore,  .  .  .  sor- 
rowing most  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more."  (vs.  37,  38.)  There  are  those  who  affect  to  despise 
emotion  and  tears,  but  Paul,  who  was  the  farthest  from  being  an  emo- 
tional or  sentimental  man,  freely  indulged  his  own  tears,  and  suf- 
fered his  beloved  Ephesians  to  shed  theirs  freely  even  upon  his  neck. 
2.  A  noble  challenge. — ''Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record  this 
day,  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men,"  This  is  more  than 
the  most  of  us  could  say  upon  leaving  our  flocks.  There  was  not  on 
his  garments  so  much  as  a  speck  of  blood.  He  had  been  utterly 
faithful.  He  had  in  no  wise  misrepresented  the  Gospel,  either  in 
speech  or  action.  He  had  faithfully  warned,  exhorted,  rebuked, 
and  admonished  them,  and  that  in  no  cold  and  perfunctory  way, 
but  with  tears.  Moreover,  he  solemnly  declared  that  he  had  not 
*'  shunned  to  declare  ...  all  the  counsel  of  God."  He  had  no  hobbies 
which  he  had  ridden  among  the  people,  or  peculiar  view  which  he 
was  constantly  ventilating.  Closely  studying  the  Scriptures  and 
earnestly  communing  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  had  brought  forth  in 
due  proportion  ''all  the  counsel  of  God."  He  had  not  spared  to  set 
before  them  the  nature  and  inevitable  penalty  of  sin^  nor  had  he 
failed  in  opening  up  to  their  faith  the  fullness  and  completeness  of 
salvation  in  Christ.  Neither  had  he  confined  his  preaching  to  the 
mere  doctrinal  statements  of  the  truth ;  he  had  been  faithful  in 
teaching  and  training  them  in  practical  holiness.  Nor  had  he 
preached  with  his  mouth  only;  he  had  been  an  example  to  the 
whole  flock,  both  in  conduct  and  in  the  spirit  of  his  labor.  "Would 
God  that  all  we  who  are  preachers  and  teachers  might  so  live  and 
teach  as  this  great  man  did,  so  that  at  the  bar  of  God  no  souls  lost 
through  our  idleness,  unfaithfulness,  or  selfishness  could  stand  be- 
fore us  and  point  to  blood-stains  on  our  garments.  "All  the  counsel 
of  God."  How  one  must  study  his  Bible  and  know  well  the  place  of 
meeting  with  God  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  able  to  preach  all  that, 
and  do  it  wisely  and  well. 


A  SOLEMN    CHARGE.  263 


III.— A  SOLEMN  CHAHGE. 

So  long  as  the  Apostle  himself  was  present  with  the  church  at 
Ephesus  there  was  in  a  sense  not  so  much  need  that  the  elders 
should  feel  the  weight  of  responsibility.  But  now  the  church  was 
to  be  left  wholly  to  their  oversight.  The  keen  spiritual  eye  of  the 
Apostle  foresaw  coming  dangers,  both  from  without  and  from  within, 
which  led  him  to  deliver  a  solemn  charge  to  these  elders,  who 
henceforth  were  alone  to  be  responsible  to  God  for  the  safety  of  the 
flock. 

1 .  The  overseers  of  the  flock. — No  man  assumes  the  pastoral 
care  of  a  flock  of  God's  people  carelessly,  any  more  than  he  dares  to 
enter  into  the  ministry  of  his  own  will  and  wish  simply.  That  is,  no 
man  ought  to  do  so  presumptuous  a  thing.  The  Holy  Ghost  calls 
men  to  the  ministry,  and  he  it  is  who  appoints  them  to  their  work. 
We  do  not  mean  that  there  is  no  human  choice  in  these  matters,  or 
no  freedom  of  the  wOl  on  the  part  of  the  minister ;  but  that  these — 
both  the  choice  and  the  decision  which  place  men  in  these  positions 
— SLve,  if  they  are  true  servants  of  God,  made  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  ''Over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you 
overseers."  The  elders  were  to  remember  that.  They  were  also  to 
remember  that  they  were  to  extend  their  oversight  to  "all  the  flock." 
It  is  right  and  proper  enough  for  pastors  and  teachers  to  have  their 
special  and  intimate  personal  friends,  as  indeed  Jesus  had,  but  in 
their  capacity  as  overseers  of  the  flock  the  least  and  the  poorest  must 
have  the  same  care  and  attention  as  the  greatest  and  the  richest. 
"  All  the  flock  "  means  each  one  of  the  flock.  Perhaps  that  one  of 
the  flock  who  is  most  disagreeable  to  us  personally,  the  least  appre- 
ciative of  our  care,  the  most  ready  to  find  fault,  is  the  very  one  who 
needs  the  most  patient,  tender,  and  loving  care  and  the  most  watch- 
ful oversight.  This  cannot  be  extended  if  it  be  left  to  mere  human 
option  to  do  it.  Only  when  we  remember  that  it  is  God's  flock,  and 
that  we  are  doing  this  service  for  Jesus  himself  and  not  for  our- 
selves or  even  the  person  concerned,  can  we  do  it.  In  view  of  these 
things  the  admonition  of  the  Apostle  to  the  elders  is  peculiarly  appro- 
priate :  "  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves."  The  first  provision 
for  the  safety  of  the  flock  must  be  made  by  taking  heed  to  ourselves. 
A  pastor  or  teacher  who  does  not  take  heed  to  himself  and  carefully 
guard  his  own  life,  and  keep  it  in  fellowship  with  God,  and  free  from 
the  evils  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  cannot  take  care  of 
the  flock.    A  spiritual  ministry  is  essential  to  a  spiritual  church.    A 


264  PAUL   AT    MILETUS. 

wandering  shepherd  cannot  recover  wandering  sheep.  A  prayerless 
pastor  cannot  provoke  his  people  to  prayer.  A  careless  minister 
cannot  induce  carefulness  in  his  people.  The  blind  cannot  lead  the 
blind,  nor  can  the  halt  lift  the  lame  over  rough  places. 

2.  The  blood-bought  flock. — "  The  flock  .  .  .  which  he  hath 
purchased  with  his  own  blood."  This  consideration  ought  to  go  far 
to  make  the  ministry  a  most  solemn  charge.  Every  member  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  has  been  purchased  by  his  blood.  We  are 
put  in  charge  of  jewels  that  have  been  bought  at  infinite  cost ;  it 
therefore  behoves  us  to  extend  to  them  the  care  which  their  great 
value  demands.  They  are  Christ's  jewels,  and  we  should  remem- 
ber that  after  all  the  service  is  to  him.  He  has  given  them  life, 
but  he  has  left  us  to  nourish  that  life  with  carefully  prepared  food. 
The  flock  must  be  fed.  Not  entertained  and  amused,  but  fed,  and 
fed  on  heavenly  food — food  which  must  be  gathered  with  great  care 
and  pains  from  the  Word  of  God,  which  is  the  only  source  of  strength 
and  ciQture  for  redeemed  souls. 

3.  Therefore  watch  and  remember. — The  occasion  for  watch- 
fulness is  seen  in  the  fact  that  there  were  grievous  wolves  ready, 
upon  the  departure  of  the  Apostle,  to  spring  upon,  tear,  and  devour 
the  flock.  And  worse,  if  possible,  than  that,  there  were  vain  and 
ambitious  men  in  the  church  who  would,  unless  great  watchfulness 
and  care  were  exercised,  rise  up  and  lead  away  many  weak-minded 
disciples  after  spiritual  fads  and  doctrinal  crotchets,  which  could  not 
build  up  the  soul,  but  which,  on  the  other  hand,  would  cause  dissen- 
^don  and  strife.  Watch  these  things  and  be  ready  for  the  first  symp- 
tom of  danger,  or  sign  of  defection  and  revolt.  To  help  them  in 
this  duty  the  Apostle  does  not  hesitate  to  recall  to  them  his  own 
manner  of  life  and  habits  of  labor  among  them,  (i)  Ceaseless  labor, 
day  and  night,  with  tears,  had  been  his  habit,  with  constant  teach- 
ing and  warning,  (ii)  Utter  unselfishness  in  that  labor.  He  had 
not  coveted  their  silver  and  gold,  but  only  themselves  for  Christ's 
sake.  He  calls  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  during  the  three  years 
he  had  been  amongst  them,  he  had  with  his  own  hands  supported 
himself,  having  been  careful  not  to  be  chargeable  to  them  in  any- 
thing, deliberately  waiving  this  right  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  Not  only 
did  he  support  himself,  but  out  of  his  own  earnings  he  had  minis- 
tered to  many  of  the  poorer  members  of  the  church,  thereby  leaving 
them  an  example  of  what  the  real  spirit  of  a  pastor  to  his  people 
ought  to  be.  To  live  and  work,  and  to  give  rather  than  to  receive, 
was  according  to  a  precept  of  our  Lord's  which  says,  "It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."    Paul  thought  nothing  so  lofty  and 


PARTING  BENEDICTION.  265 

desirable  as  to  be  like  liis  Master  in  anything  and  everything.  lie 
does  not  say  that  this  must  be  so  with  all  ministers,  but  he  found  it 
advisable  in  his  case,  and  moreover  he  delighted  in  having  it  so. 
The  spirit  of  unselfishness  must  be  present  in  the  heart  and  life  of 
a  true  pastor,  whether  he  is  supported  by  his  church  or  by  his  own 
hands,     (vs.  31,  33-35.) 

IV.— PARTING  BENEDICTION. 

Wlien  our  Lord  parted  with  his  disciples  on  the  night  before  his 
crucifixion,  he  commended  them  to  God.  This  he  did  in  prayer 
which  he  uttered  in  their  amazed  and  fascinated  hearing.  (John 
xvii.)  So  now  Paul,  in  imitation  of,  or  rather  following,  the  Lord's 
example,  commends  these  elders  to  God.  He  had  in  a  measure  taken 
care  of  them  as  well  as  of  the  church,  but  now  he  hands  them  over 
to  God — not,  indeed,  to  free  them  from  the  care  of  themselves  and 
the  flock,  but  in  order  that  they  may  know  the  true  source  of 
strength  and  comfort. 

1.  Commended  to  God.— "I  commend  you  to  God."  He  rec- 
ommended them  to  look  to  God  wdth  confidence  and  hope.  He 
would  have  them  remember  that  God  loved  them;  that  he  was 
present  always  by  his  Spirit  to  help  them ;  that  he  had  all  wisdom 
to  guide  them,  and  all-loving  and  tender  mercy  to  sympathize  with 
them,  and  a  perfect  knowledge  of  both  themselves  and  all  their  sur- 
roundings, so  that  he  could  at  all  times  be  direct  help  to  them  in 
their  time  of  need. 

2.  "The  word  of  his  grace." — Paul  had  already  spoken  to 
them  of  the  ''Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God"  (v.  24),  so  now  again  he 
calls  their  attention  to  that  word.  With  Paul  the  word  of  God  was 
little  short  of  being  one  with  God.  That  word  reveals  to  us  the 
heart  of  God  and  opens  up  to  us  all  his  secrets  and  purposes.  If  we 
are  to  fulfill  our  mission  as  teachers  or  are  to  take  heed  to  ourselves, 
we  must  be  intimately  acquainted  with  the  word  of  God.  It  is  a 
word  of  grace  always.  God  has  no  word  for  man  that  does  not  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  mean  grace  for  us.  That  word  is  not  a  "  word 
only."  It  ''is  able."  The  word  of  God's  grace  has  in  it  the  strength 
and  power  of  God  himself.  When  Jesus  spake  to  the  sick  and  the 
lame,  and  even  the  dead,  his  word  drove  out  the  sickness,  restored 
wasted  faculties,  and  even  commanded  the  powers  of  the  other  world 
to  deliver  up  from  death  the  souls  of  the  departed.  That  same 
word  written  for  us  is  as  able  as  when  it  was  spoken  by  Jesus  him- 
self,    (i)  It  "is  able  to  build  you  up."     However  weak  one  may  be, 


2G6  PAUL   AT    MILETUS. 

either  in  knowledge  or  spiritual  strength,  the  word  of  the  grace  of 
God,  carefully  studied  and  loyally  attended  to,  will  build  up  the 
soul,  and  make  it  strong  in  faith  and  in  wisdom,  (ii)  It  is  able  "  to 
give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified."  This 
is  a  double  inheritance.  First,  it  covers  the  inheritance  which  sanc- 
tified souls  on  earth  have  in  fellowship  and  communion  with  God. 
It  includes  "  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge 
of  him :  the  eyes  of  "  our  "  understanding  being  enlightened ;  that " 
we  "may  know  what  is  the  hope  of  his  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of 
the  glory  of  his  inheritance  in  the  saints."  (Eph.  i,  17,  18.)  Sec- 
ond, it  is  a  title-deed  to  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  the  world 
to  come.  That  "  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by  the 
power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in 
the  last  time."  (I.  Pet.  i,  4,  5.)  Such  was  Paul's  parting  benedic- 
tion and  prayer  for  the  Ephesians,  and  such  is  God's  desire  for  us  all 
too,  for  what  was  spoken  for  them  has  been  preserved  to  us  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  still  is  spoken  for  our  benefit.  The  word  of  God  is 
never  old  and  never  loses  its  power,  because  it  is  the  word  of  the 
Living  God  and  not  the  word  of  man.    May  we  faithfully  attend  to  it. 


XXXIII.  ^ 

PAUL  AT  JERUSALEM.— Acts  xxi,  27-39. 

(27)  And  when  the  seven  days  were  almost  ended,  the  Jews  which  were 
of  Asia,  when  they  saw  him  in  the  temple,  stirred  up  all  the  people,  and 
laid  hai5ds  on  him,  (28)  Crying  out.  Men  of  Israel,  help:  This  is  the  man, 
that  teacheth  all  men  every  where  against  the  people,  and  the  law,  and  this 
place :  and  further  brought  Greeks  also  into  the  temple,  and  hath  polluted 
this  holy  place.  (29)  (For  they  had  seen  before  with  him  in  the  city  Tro- 
phimus  an  Ephesian,  whom  they  supposed  that  Paul  had  brought  into  the 
temple.)  (30)  And  all  the  city  was  moved,  and  the  people  ran  together: 
and  they  took  Paul,  and  drew  him  out  of  the  temple :  and  forthwith  the 
doors  were  shut.  (31)  And  as  they  went  about  to  kill  him,  tidings  came 
unto  the  chief  captain  of  the  band,  that  all  Jerusalem  was  in  an  uproar: 
(32)  Who  immediately  took  soldiers  and  centurions,  and  ran  down  unto 
them :  and  when  they  saw  the  chief  captain  and  the  goldiers,  they  left  beat- 
ing of  Paul.  (33)  Then  the  chief  captain  came  near,  and  took  him,  and  com- 
manded him  to  be  bound  with  two  chains;  and  demanded  who  he  was,  and 
what  he  had  done.  (34)  And  some  cried  one  thing,  some  another,  among 
the  multitude :  and  when  he  could  not  know  the  certainty  for  the  tumult, 
he  commanded  him  to  be  carried  into  the  castle.  035)  And  when  he  came 
upon  the  stairs,  so  it  was,  that  he  was  borne  of  the  soldiers  for  the  violence 
of  the  people.  (36)  For  the  multitude  of  the  people  followed  after,  crying. 
Away  with  him.  (37)  And  as  Paul  was  to  be  led  into  the  castle,  he  said 
unto  the  chief  captain.  May  I  speak  unto  thee?  Who  said.  Canst  thou  speak 
Greek?  (38)  Art  not  thou  that  Egyptian,  which  before  these  days  madest 
an  uproar,  and  leddest  out  into  the  wilderness  four  thousand  men  that 
were  murderers?  (39)  But  Paul  said,  I  am  a  man  which  am  a  Jew  of  Tar- 
sus, a  city  in  Cilicia,  a  citizen  of  no  mean  city:  and,  I  beseech  thee,  suffer 
m^e  to  speak  unto  the  people.— Acts  xxi,  27-39. 

The  events  in  the  history  of  the  apostolic  ministry  of  Paul  are 
now  transferred  from  Asia  Minor  and  Greece  to  Jerusalem,  where 
for  the  third  time  Paul  has  gone.  He  went  this  time  with  his  per- 
sonal company,  including  Luke,  certain  disciples  from  Cesarea,  an 
old  disciple  from  Cyprus  named  Mnason,  and  Trophimus,  an  Ephe- 
sian Greek.  We  are  not  clearly  informed  just  what  was  the  object 
of  this  visit.  That  Paul  went  against  the  counsel  of  certain  Christian 
prophets  is  clear.  His  purpose  was  a  strong  one,  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  he  accomplished  anything  by  the  visit,  God  indeed  over- 
ruled it  for  good,  and  it  was  the  means  of  sending  him  to  Rome  by 
the  way  of  Cesarea  again.  Paul  had  a  passionate  love  for  Jerusa- 
lem, and  though  he  was  commissioned  to  the  Gentiles  he  always 


2C8  PAUL  AT   JERUSALEM. 

longed  to  prcaeli  the  Gospel  to  the  Jews,  and  especially  to  the  Je- 
rusalem Jews,  among  whom  he  had  spent  his  life  and  with  whom 
(the  rulers)  he  had  been  associated  in  their  opposition  and  persecu- 
tion of  '^  that  Way."  At  any  rate,  we  find  Paul  with  his  personal 
company^^again  in  the  city.  He  immediately  made  known  his  arrival 
to  the  brethren  there,  who  received  him  and  his  friends  gladly,  (v. 
17.)  Paul  was  by  this  time  well  known  in  Jerusalem,  not  because 
he  had  been  there  frequently,  but  he  had  been  there  on  two  impor- 
tant occasions  before,  and  the  success  of  his  ministry  among  the 
Gentiles  was  being  constantly  reported  to  the  church  at  Jerusalem. 
The  day  after  their  arrival  he  went  with  his  friends  to  the  house  of 
James,  the  chief  pastor  of  the  church  and  the  Lord's  half-brother,  who 
was  assembled  with  the  elders,  and  detailed  to  them  all  the  things 
which  God  had  been  working  among  the  Gentiles.  At  this  good 
news  they  "glorified  the  Lord."  No  doubt  their  thanksgiving  was 
genuine,  but  their  gladness  was  a  little  damped  and  their  enthusiasm 
a  little  chilled  because  of  a  great  big  BUT  which  they  interposed. 
They  would  doubtless  have  been  quite  as  happy  to  have  heard  this 
good  news  by  letter  as  to  have  had  it  brought  to  them  personally  by 
Paul.  "  Thou  seest,  brother."  This  was  the  embarrassment.  That 
is,  "  Your  presence  in  the  city  will  excite  a  great  deal  of  bad  feeling 
among  the  Jewish  believers  here."  There  were  many  thousands  of 
Jews,  and  they  were  all  zealous  of  the  law.  That  is,  they  were  be- 
lievers in  Christ,  but  they  had  never  as  yet  disposed  of  their  old 
Jewish  grave-clothes.  Called  into  Gospel  light  and  life  by  the  word 
of  the  Gospel,  they  had  risen  out  of  the  old  Jewish  ceremonial  grave, 
but  still  clutched  the  cerements  of  that  dead  ceremonial  to  their 
Christian  bodies,  and  were  angry  with  Paul  because  he  had  thrown 
these  off  and  was  standing  in  the  "liberty  wherewith  Christ  had 
made  him  free."  Exaggerated  reports  of  Paul's  teaching  among  the 
Gentiles  had  come  to  Jerusalem  and  had  still  further  deeply  preju- 
diced the  people  against  him.  They  had  heard  that  Paul  not  only 
taught  the  Gentiles  that  they  were  not  bound  by  the  ceremonial  law 
of  Moses,  but  that  even  the  Jews  were  no  longer  to  circumcise  their 
children,  nor  were  they  to  observe  any  of  the  old  Jewish  rites.  This 
was  not  true,  for  Paul  himself  had  caused  Titus  to  be  circumcised 
because  one  of  his  parents  was  a  Jew.  He  did,  indeed,  teach  that 
circumcision  availed  nothing  to  justify  a  man,  especially  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, but  rather  put  him  under  legal  obligations  which  had  been  ab- 
rogated by  the  Gospel.  Yet  he  was  ever  content  to  allow  Jews  to 
indulge  their  prejudices  so  far  as  they  did  not  tend  to  the  denial  of 
the  all-sufficiency  of  the  redemption  in  Christ.     (Gal.  v,  3.)     James 


PAUL  AT   JERUSALEM.  269 

told  Paul  that  Ms  presence  in  the  city  would  be  certainly  known  by 
the  Jewish  believers,  and  they  would  undoubtedly  demand  some  ex- 
planations and  enter  some  protests  against  his  being  received. 
James  therefore  proposed  a  very  'inexpedient  expedient"  to  Paul, 
viz.  :  that,  as  there  were  then  in  the  city  certain  Jews  who  had  a 
vow  upon  them,  Paul  should  join  them  in  the  ceremonial  purification 
incident  upon  the  sacrifices  offered  on  such  an  occasion,  and  be  at 
the  expense  of  the  whole  matter,  especially  to  show  himself  in  the 
Temple  with  these  orthodox  Jews,  and  thus  by  his  presence  and 
participation  in  Jewish  and  Temple  ceremonial  directly  contradict 
the  false  rumors.  It  strikes  us  that  this  was  rather  a  cowardly  prop- 
osition on  the  part  of  James  and  '^the  elders.  We  wonder  why  they 
did  not  boldly  stand  by  Paul  and  champion  him  in  the  face  of  the 
prejudiced  church.  They  had  position  and  authority.  Paul  was 
their  honored  guest,  and  they  knew  his  practices  and  approved  them. 
"Why,  then,  leave  him  in  the  lurch  and  put  the  whole  onus  of  the  mat- 
ter on  him?  We  can  conceive  no  reason  other  than  the  one  found 
in  indisposition  to  be  troubled  with  other  people's  matters  or  be 
embarrassed  by  one's  friends.  I  can  well  fancy  Paul  swallowing 
some  mouthfuls  of  indignation  at  the  cold  shoulder  the  Jerusalem 
brethren  gave  him  in  this  matter,  especially  after  all  he  had  done  for 
them.  His  o\\ti  action  was  in  strong  contrast  with  theirs.  Humble 
to  a  degree  (though  it  is  certain  that  Paul's  spirit  revolted  at  this 
makeshift  method),  he  nevertheless  submitted  and  even  cheerfully 
undertook  to  do  a  thing  which  was  a  little  humiliating,  in  order  to 
disabuse  the  prejudices  of  his  Jewish  brethren,  whom  he  tenderly 
loved.  This  is  another  instance  of  Paul's  well-known  rule  of  being 
all  things  to  all  men  in  order  that  he  might  win  some.  There  was 
nothing  wrong  in  what  he  did ;  he  was  in  no  sense  playing  the  hypo- 
crite ;  that  he  would  not  have  done  under  any  circumstances  any- 
thing which  violated  his  conscience  goes  without  saying.  This  also 
he  did  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  We  admire  Paul's  humility  and  will- 
ingness to  sacrifice  himself  in  this  matter  all  the  more  because  it 
was  done  in  the  face  of  what  seems  to  me  to  be  an  ungenerous  and 
rather  cowardly  part  played  by  James  and  the  elders  :  a  truckling  to 
prejudices  which  they  should  have  boldly  faced  and  put  down  by 
their  authority,  or  at  least  bravely  met  standing  by  the  servant  of 
God,  in  whose  integrity '^they  had  absolute  confidence.  More  than 
one  servant  of  God  has  had  occasion  to  echo  the  sentiment  of  some- 
body who  exclaimed :  ''  Save  me  from  my  friends,  and  I  will  be  able 
to  manage  my  enemies." 


PAUL   AT   JERUSALEM. 


I.— THE   JEWISH  MOB. 


If  there  was  anything  needed  to  show  how  foolish  and  unwise 
was  the  shuffling  advice  given  to  the  Apostle  in  the  matter  of  going 
through  a  vain  ceremonial  in  the  Temple  to  assuage  the  prejudices 
of  Jewish  believers,  the  result  of  this  miserable  business  demon- 
strated it.  Paul  in  jumping  out  of  the  frying-pan  of  Christian- Jew- 
ish prejudice  jumped  into  the  fire  of  unbelieving-Jewish  fanaticism 
and  hatred.  James  sent  him  into  the  Temple  to  prove  to  the  be- 
lieving Jews  that  he  was  not  antagonistic  to  the  Mosaic  ritual  or 
Jewish  customs;  his  being  there,  instead  of  proving  the  desired 
point  to  the  believing  Jews,  was  taken  as  positive  proof  of  profanation 
to  the  unbelieving  Jews.  His  good  was  immediately  evil  spoken  of. 
The  scheme  was  intended  to  placate  believers,  and  it  ended  in 
arousing  the  wild  fury  of  unbelievers.  Thus  do  makeshift  expe- 
dients usually  turn  out.  At  the  close  of  the  seven  days  required  for 
the  ceremony  of  purification  (v.  27)  the  trouble  began. 

1.  Paul's  enemies. — These  were  some  Asiatic  Jews,  either  from 
Ephesus  or  its  immediate  vicinity,  who  had  come  up  to  the  feast. 
They  knew  Paul  by  sight,  perhaps  were  the  very  ringleaders  of  that 
part  of  the  Ephesian  synagogue  who  had  hardened  their  hearts 
against  the  Gospel  and  manifested  their  personal  hatred  of  Paul. 
Paul  had  been  too  consj^icuous  and  bold  a  preacher  not  to  be  a  well- 
known  man.  Seeing  him  one  day  in  the  Temple,  they  at  once  came 
to  the  conclusion,  or  assumed  to  do  so,  that  he  was  there  for  the  pur- 
pose of  dishonoring  it.  ^' A  man's  foes  are  often  they  of  his  own 
household."  This  was  pre-eminently  so  with  Jesus.  ''His  own  re- 
ceived him  not."  One  of  his  own  disciples  betrayed  him,  and  his 
own  countrymen  murdered  him,  even  when  the  Roman  governor 
would  have  saved  him.  Paul  is  now  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
Master  and  tasting  again  at  Jerusalem  a  draught  of  that  bitterness 
and  hatred  with  which  he  had  become  familiar  in  Asia  Minor  and  at 
Thessalonica.     But  these  things  did  not  move  him. 

2.  The  charge  against  Paul. — These  Asiatic  Jews  in  their 
fanatical  app^eal  to  the  people  charged  Paul  with  fom^  things :  (i) 
That  he  taught  all  ''men  everywhere  against  the  people."  That  is, 
that  he  was  a  renegade  from  his  own  people,  that  in  Asia  and  Europe 
he  had  been  carrying  on  an  active  campaign  against  the  Jews, 
though  he  was  himself  a  Jew.  Never  was  there  a  falser  charge  than 
this.  Never,  in  his  most  earnest  presentations  of  the  Gospel,  or  in 
his  closest  arguments  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  did  Paul 


THE  JEWISH   MOB.  271 

speak  a  word  against  the  Jewish  people.  His  greatest  passion  was 
that  of  love  for  them  next  to  his  love  for  Christ.  He  never  ceased 
to  try  and  win  them  to  the  faith.  His  "  prayer  to  God  for  Israel  was 
that  they  might  be  saved."  But  this  charge  was  brought  against 
him,  and  it  had  great  weight  with  the  people,  already  smarting  un- 
der a  thousand  slanders  reported  and  circulated  against  them  by 
their  Roman  conquerors,  (ii)  That  he  spoke  against  the  law.  This 
also  was  false,  for  Paul  honored  the  law  of  Moses.  He  indeed 
pointed  out  how  it  could  not  save  the  sinner,  and  how  it  had  been 
fulfilled  in  the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ,  but  he  never  spoke  against  it. 
His  whole  life  from  his  youth  up  had  been  guided  by  that  law,  and 
even  when  he  gave  up  seeking  righteousness  by  the  law  to  find  it  in 
Christ  through  faith,  he  still  held  the  law  in  the  highest  reverence 
as  the  revealer  of  sin  and  the  outward  expression  of  God's  inherent 
righteousness,  (iii)  That  he  spoke  against  the  Temple.  This  was 
equally  false.  The  Temple  was  a  revered  spot  and  building  to 
Paul.  Every  early  and  holy  association  of  his  life  was  associated 
with  it.  It  is  true  that  he  pointed  out  that  the  Temple  had  fulfilled 
its  divine  purpose  and  now  found  its  anti-type  in  Christ,  who  is  the 
true  Temple  and  meeting-place  of  God  with  his  people.  Thece 
charges  were  of  the  same  nature  as  those  which  thirty  years  before 
had  been  laid  against  Jesus  himself.  "  The  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his  Master,"  and  since  they  falsified  him,  Paul  could  expect  no 
better  treatment  for  himself  at  their  hands,  (iv)  That  he  had  pur- 
posely and  deliberately  defiled  the  Temple  by  bringing  a  Greek  into 
its  inner  courts.  They  had  seen  Trophimus  with  Paul  in  the  streets, 
and  because  Paul  was  now  seen  in  the  Temple  in  company  with 
others  they  leaped  to  the  conclusion,  or  assumed  to  do  so,  that  he 
was  defiling  it  by  bringing  in  a  Greek,  or,  as  they  would  term  it,  "a, 
Gentile  dog."  This,  of  course,  was  utterly  false ;  but  that  was  not 
the  point  with  these  haters  of  Christ  and  his  servant.  These  Jews 
never  allowed  the  truth  to  stand  in  the  way  of  their  purpose.  They 
lied  about  Christ,  trumped  up  false  charges  against  him,  and  made 
false  issues  before  Pilate ;  so  now  they  do  likewise  with  Paul. 

3.  The  rally ing-cry  of  hatred. — "Men  of  Israel,  help." 
They  thus  cried  out,  rehearsing  these  charges,  and  appealing  to  the 
patriotism  and  fanatical  zeal  of  the  Jews  against  a  man  whom  they 
designated  as  a  double  enemy.  The  spark  took  hold  of  the  people, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  whole  city  was  in  a  blaze  of  wild  excite- 
ment, the  likelihood  being  that  not  one  out  of  a  hundred  of  the 
mob  knew  what  had  brought  them  together,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
confused  accounts  they  gave  of  the  matter  to  the  Roman  captain. 


272  PAUL  AT  JERUSALEM. 

"Some  cried  one  thing,  some  another."  This  illustrated  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  government.  The  fury  of  a  mob  blinded  by  preju- 
dice and  passion  never  yet  did  an  act  of  justice. 

4.  Paul  seized  and  dragged  out  of  the  Temple. — The  mob 
rushed  into  the  Temple,  and  without  stopping  to  inquire  why  Paul 
was  there,  who  were  his  companions,  and  whether  the  charges  al- 
leged against  him  were  true,  dragged  him  out,  as  he  had  once  helped 
to  drag  Stephen  out.  He  must  have  thought  of  that  event  as  he 
found  himself  in  the  chief  place  in  a  similar  transaction.  Then  he 
was  the  director  and  leader  of  a  mob ;  now  he  was  its  victim,  and  he 
was  about  to  suffer  the  same  fate  that  thirty  years  ago  he  had  meted 
out  to  Stephen.  "  And  forthwith  the  doors  were  shut."  This  is  sug- 
gestive. The  intention  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob  was  to  kill  Paul ; 
but  to  have  slain  him  in  the  Temple  would  have  been  to  defile  it. 
They  were  too  religious  to  do  that ;  so  they  dragged  him  out  and 
shut  the  doors.  To  "  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel "  was  no 
new  thing  for  the  Jews  to  do.  They  scrupled  to  defile  the  Temple 
with  blood,  but  did  not  hesitate  for  an  instant  to  murder  an  innocent 
man.  We  have  heard  of  murderers  who  confessed  to  eating  meat  on 
Friday  and  got  absolution  for  that  heinous  offense,  but  did  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  confess  that  they  had  murdered  the  man  whose 
lunch  they  had  eaten  on  the  same  day.  What  strange  and  devilish 
inconsistencies  have  been  done  in  the  name  of  religion,  what  horri- 
ble crimes  committed !  But  if  the  Jews  from  envy  murdered  the 
Son  of  God,  we  could  not  expect  them  to  hesitate  to  do  the  same 
thing  to  one  of  his  disciples. 

II.— THE  INTERVENTION  OF  THE  ROMAN. 

The  news  of  this  uproar  in  the  streets  got  to  the  ear  of  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Temple  guard,  and  he  immediately  came  down  with  sol- 
diers just  in  time  to  rescue  Paul  from  his  intended  murderers.  At 
sight  of  the  soldiers  the  Jews  ''left  beating  of  Paul."  Here,  again, 
we  have  an  illustration  of  the  value  of  government,  and  its  protec- 
tion to  life  as  well  as  to  property.  God  has  ordained  the  magistrate 
to  keep  the  peace  among  men,  to  protect  the  innocent  and  to  punish 
the  evil-doer.  This  was  a  heathen  government,  this  Eoman  govern- 
ment, but  in  this  case,  at  least,  it  was  used  by  God  to  protect  and 
save  his  servant.  The  Roman  captain  did  not  extend  his  protection 
to  Paul  because  he  cared  for  him  or  knew  anything  about  him,  but 
simply  because  it  was  his  duty  to  keep  the  peace  in  that  turbulent 
city.     This  is  now  the  third  time  that  Paul's  life  had  been  saved  by 


THE   INTERVENTION   OF   THE    ROMAN.  273 

the  intervention  of  the  Roman  power,  not  because  of  favor  to  him, 
but  simply  in  discharge  of  the  duty  of  government  to  the  whole 
community.  Once  at  Corinth,  where  Gallic  stood  between  him  and 
the  Jews  ;  once  in  Ephesus,  wiiere  the  town  clerk  interposed  in  the 
interests  of  the  city's  peace ;  and  now  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  there  should  be  any  formal  alliance  between  Church 
and  State.  Indeed,  that  is  always  a  misfortune  and  calamity  to  the 
Church,  and  in  violation  of  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Chris- 
tian commonwealth.  God  is  able  to  overrule  the  governing  powers 
of  this  world  when  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  do  so  in  the  interests 
of  religion,  without  the  Church  making  any  alliance  with  them. 

1.  Paul  bound  with  two  chains. — When  the  soldiers  got  Paul 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  mob  and  into  their  hands,  he  was  by  com- 
mand of  the  captain  manacled  between  two  soldiers,  his  right  and 
left  hands  bound  to  the  right  and  left  hand  of  either  soldier.  This 
was  not  the  first  experience  Paul  had  had  with  fetters,  nor  was  it  to 
be  the  last.  He  must  have  remembered  now  the  prophecy  of  Aga- 
bus.  (v.  11.)  It  is  true  that  he  was  bound  by  the  Romans  and  not 
by  the  Jews,  but  it  was  through  them  that  these  chains  were  on  his 
hands.  The  captain  assumed  that  Paul  w^as  some  criminal,  though 
he  could  get  at  no  information  on  the  subject  from  the  crowd.  This 
also  is  after  the  manner  of  the  law  sometimes,  and  especially  after 
the  manner  of  the  policeman.  I  read  the  other  day  of  a  policeman 
who  came  running  up  to  where  there  was  a  distm^bance  and  fight 
between  two  men.  He  asked  which  of  the  two  men  had  gotten  the 
worst  of  the  fight,  and  when  the  weaker  party  was  pointed  out  to  him 
he  promptly  arrested  that  one  and  marched  him  off  to  prison.  A 
party  of  Salvationists  are  parading  the  streets  and  singing  their 
hymns,  when  a  lot  of  roughs  set  upon  them  and  stone  them.  Then 
the  police  rush  in  and  arrest  the  Salvationists  and  march  them  off  to 
jail  on  charge  of  breaking  the  peace. 

2.  Paul  in  the  castle  prison. — Again  a  prisoner.  Philippi  is 
repeated  at  Jerusalem !  Jew  and  Gentile  are  alike  at  heart  when 
the  Lord  of  life  is  absent.  No  doubt  the  barracks  where  Paul  was 
carried  were  the  best  and  safest  place  for  him,  but  no  particular 
thanks  were  due  to  the  captain  of  the  band.  Prisons  are  not  the 
worst  places  that  God's  people  have  been  compelled  to  inhabit. 
Peter,  I  think,  never  regretted  his  prison  experience  when  he  re- 
membered the  visit  of  the  angel  who  released  him.  Paul  never  re- 
gretted his  prison  at  Philippi  when  he  remembered  the  earthquake 
and  the  conversion  of  the  jailer  and  his  household.  Nor  did  he  re- 
gret his  longer  residence  in  the  prison  at  Rome  when  ho  remembered 


274  PAUL  AT  JERUSALEM. 

Onesimus  and  the  loving  care  of  his  beloved  Philippians.  Certainly 
the  Church  at  large  has  only  to  thank  God  for  what  has  come  out  of 
prisons  where  his  saints  have  been  confined.  The  Epistles  of  Paul 
were  some  of  them  written  from  his  prison.  The  Revelation  of  John 
was  given  to  him  when  he  was  a  prisoner  either  in  the  mines  or  the 
galleys.  Luther's  Bible  was  largely  translated  while  the  great  re- 
former was  a  practical  prisoner.  John  Bunyan's  immortal  ''Pilgrim's 
Progress  "  was  conceived  and  written  in  Bedford  jail.  Surely  God 
knows  how  to  turn  prisons  to  good  account !  It  was  well  for  Paul 
'now  that  he  was  fast  chained  to  the  two  soldiers,  for  the  press  of  the 
hungry  mob  was  so  great  that  they  would  have  torn  him  out  of  the 
soldiers'  hands  but  that  he  had  been  bound  to  them.  As  it  was,  they 
literally  carried  him  up  the  stairs  into  a  place  of  safety.  These  were 
strange  angels,  but  God  had  given  them  charge  over  his  saint,  and 
they  bore  him  up  on  their  hands,  lest  the  wolves  should  have  de- 
voured him.  "Well,  w^ell,  we  will  not  quarrel  with  the  rough  usage 
of  the  world  when  God  is  superintending  the  business. 


III.— THE  FORTITUDE   OF  THE  APOSTLE. 

As  soon  as  Paul  was  well  up  the  stairs  and  out  of  reach  of  the 
mob  he  turned  to  the  captain  and  asked  the  privilege  of  speaking  to 
him. 

1.  "  May  I  speak  unto  thee  ?  " — It  was  a  wonder  that  Paul  had 
either  breath  in  his  body  or  wits  about  him  to  speak  at  all  after  all 
the  rough  handling  he  had  had.  But  the  greater  wonder  is  that  his 
thought  all  the  time  was  for  his  countrymen,  who  were  even  then 
thirsting  for  his  blood.  It  was  no  petition  for  himself  or  explanation 
of  his  position  which  animated  him.  He  wanted  speech  with  the 
captain  only  that  he  might  have  speech  with  his  countrymen. 
Speaking  in  Greek,  he  surprised  the  captain,  who  asked  him  if  he 
was  not  that  Egyptian  (a  certain  mad  fanatic)  who  recently  had  led 
a  huge  insurrection  of  more  than  four  thousand  men,  which  was  sub- 
sequently put  down,  although  the  leader  escaped.  This  captain 
now  assumed  that  Paul  could  be  no  other  than  he.  Officers  of  gov- 
ernment are  not  supposed  to  know  who  prepchers  of  the  Gospel  are, 
and  are  not  as  a  rule  slow  to  assume  that  they  are  ''some  Egyptian 
or  another,"  who  ought  to  be  imprisoned  or  put  down. 

2.  "A  citizen  of  no  mean  city." — Paul  quickly  disabused  the 
mind  of  the  bluff  but  ignorant  soldier  by  informing  him  that  he  was 
not  only  not  the  Egyptian  in  question,  but  was  both  a  Jew  and  a 


THE    FORTITUDE   OF    THE    APOSTLE.  275 

free  Roman  citizen.     He  had  therefore  a  double  right  to  be  heard, 
and  he  was  then  allowed  to  speak. 

3.  "  I  beseech  thee,  suffer  me  to  speak." — This  time  to  speak 
to  the  people.  All  we  have  to  ask  of  government  is  freedom  to 
speak  to  the  people.  Paul  longed  not  to  justify  himself  but  to  show 
the  people,  who  were  thirsting  for  his  life,  the  way  of  salvation. 
What  a  great  tender  heart  there  was  in  that  man  !  No  resentment, 
no  bitterness  ;  but  only  yearning  love  for  them.  He  "  counted  not 
his  life  dear  to  himself,"  but  would  have  died  for  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  there  if  he  could  thereby  have  won  his  people  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  him.  He  who  *'  could  wish  himself  accursed  from  Christ  for 
his  brethren,  his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh"  (Rom.  ix,  3)  could 
not  now  indulge  in  resentment.  He  was  a  worthy  follower  of  the 
Lord  who  said  on  the  cross  :  ''Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do." 


XXXIV. 

PAUL   BEFORE   FELIX.— Acts  xxiv,    10-25. 

(10)  Then  Paul,  after  that  the  governor  had  beckoned  unto  him  to  speak, 
answered,  Forasmuch  as  I  know  that  thou  hast  been  of  many  years  a  judge 
unto  this  nation,  I  do  the  more  cheerfully  answer  for  myself :  (11)  Because 
that  thou  mayest  understand,  that  there  are  yet  but  twelve  days  since  I 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  for  to  worship.  (13)  And  they  neither  found  me  in 
the  temple  disputing  with  any  man,  neither  raising  up  the  people,  neither 
in  the  synagogues,  nor  in  the  city :  (13)  Neither  can  they  prove  the  things 
whereof  they  now  accuse  me.  (14)  But  this  I  confess  unto  thee,  that  after 
the  way  which  they  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God  of  my  fathers,  believ- 
ing all  things  which  are  written  in  the  law  and  in  the  prophets :  (15)  And 
have  hope  toward  God,  which  they  themselves  also  allow,  that  there  shall 
be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  unjust.  (l(j)  And  herein 
do  I  exercise  myself,  to  have  always  a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward 
God,  and  toward  men,  (17)  Now  after  many  years  I  came  to  bring  alms  to 
my  nation,  and  offerings.  (18)  Whereupon  certain  Jews  from  Asia  found 
me  purified  in  the  temple,  neither  with  multitude,  nor  with  tumult.  (19) 
Who  ought  to  have  been  here  before  thee,  and  object,  if  they  had  aught 
against  me.  (20)  Or  else  let  these  same  here  say,  if  they  have  found  any 
evil  doing  in  me,  while  I  stood  before  the  council,  (21)  Except  it  be  for  this 
one  voice,  that  I  cried  standing  among  them.  Touching  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  I  am  called  in  question  by  you  this  day.  (22)  And  when  Felix 
heard  these  things,  having  more  perfect  knowledge  of  that  way,  he  deferred 
them,  and  said.  When  Lysias  the  chief  captain  shall  come  down,  I  will 
know  the  uttermost  of  your  matter.  (23)  And  he  commanded  a  centurion 
to  keep  Paul,  and  to  let  him  have  liberty,  and  that  he  should  forbid  none 
of  his  acquaintance  to  minister  or  come  unto  him.  (24)  And  after  certain 
days,  when  Felix  came  with  his  wife  Drusilla,  which  was  a  Jewess,  he  sent 
for  Paul,  and  heard  him  concerning  the  faith  -in  Christ.  (25)  And  as  he 
reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trem- 
bled, and  answered.  Go  thy  way  for  this  time;  when  I  have  a  conv^enient 
season,  I  will  call  for  thee.— Acts  xxiv,  10-25. 

In  our  last  study  we  left  Paul  standing  on  the  platform  of  the 
stairway  which  led  up  from  the  Temple  into  the  castle  barracks.  He 
had  sought  and  obtained  permission  to  speak  to  the  Jews,  which  he 
did,  using  the  Hebrew  tongue.  This  at  first  flattered,  or  at  least 
pleased,  the  people,  who  were  fanatically  attached  to  everything 
Jewish.  He  had  not  finished  the  detailed  account  of  his  conversion 
and  set  forth  his  commission  from  Christ  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
Gentiles,  when  the  wild  passion  of  the  mob  broke  out  afresh,  and 
with  one  voice  they  cried  out,  "Away  with  such  a  fellow  from  the 


PAUL  AT  THE  BAR  OF  ROME.         277 

earth/'  and,  rushing  upon  him,  would  have  torn  him  from  the 
soldiers  but  that  the  captain  hurried  him  inside  the  castle.  The 
next  day  the  chief  captain  summoned  the  Sanhedrim  together  and 
brought  Paul  down  to  them,  in  order  to  tind  out  the  truth  of  the 
charge  brought  against  him.  In  the  meantime  the  captain  had 
learned  that  his  prisoner  was  a  Roman  citizen,  which  naturally  put 
Paul  on  favorable  grounds  with  the  Roman  authorities.  Paul  was 
scarcely  before  the  Sanhedrim,  and  had  uttered  but  one  brief  sen- 
tence, when  the  high-priest  commanded  him  ''to  be  smitten  in  the 
mouth."  This  Paul  resented  with  bitter  words,  though  he  afterward 
apologized  for  his  rudeness  to  the  high-priest,  notwithstanding  he 
had  strong  provocation.  The  counsel  was  a  failure,  because  the 
Jews  were  like  a  company  of  wild  beasts  who  simply  sought  to  tear 
Paul  to  pieces.  The  captain,  to  save  Paul's  life,  took  him  back  to 
the  barracks.  Then  a  cabal  was  formed,  bound  by  an  oath  in  which 
the  conspirators  swore  that  they  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they 
had  assassinated  Paul.  This  plot  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  centu- 
rion, he  hurried  Paul  off  to  Cesarea,  to  Felix,  the  governor  of  the 
province,  with  a  letter  briefly  detailing  the  circumstances  imder 
which  Paul  was  arrested.  After  five  days  Ananias  the  high-priest, 
with  a  hired  orator  or  pleader,  came  down  to  Cesarea  to  indict  Paul, 
and,  if  possible,  to  get  a  conviction  from  Felix,  who  was  known  to 
be  amenable  to  other  arguments  than  those  of  the  law  and  the  testi- 
mony. They  brought  neither  witnesses  nor  personal  accusers.  They 
relied  upon  a  bold  accusation  without  proof,  and — Felix.  After  Ter- 
tuUus  had  concluded  his  speech,  which  was  full  of  fulsome  and  hypo- 
critical flattery  of  Felix  and  gross  and  lying  slanders  against  Paul, 
Felix  beckoned  to  Paul  with  cold  and  haughty  Roman  condescen- 
sion, intimating  that  he  might  speak  in  his  own  defense, 

I.— PAUL  AT  THE  BAR  OF   ROME. 

Before  turning  our  attention  to  Paul's  defense,  it  may  be  well 
for  us  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Felix.  He  was  the  most  noto- 
riously unprincipled  governor  in  the  entire  dominions  of  Rome. 
Originally  a  slave,  he  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  freedom,  and 
by  genius  and  gi'eat  strength  of  will  had  attained  to  the  highest 
position  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  Roman  government.  He  was  the 
personal  favorite  of  the  emperor.  He  was  vastly  rich,  having  ob- 
tained his  wealth  by  fraud  and  all  practices  of  dishonesty,  especially 
by  receiving  large  bribes  from  interested  parties  in  return  for  his 
favorable  decisions  in  cases  coming  before  him.     He  was  relentlessly 


278  PAUL    BEFORE    FELIX. 

cruel  and  unscrupulous,  having  brought  about  at  one  time  the  assas- 
sination of  the  high-priest  of  Jerusalem  to  gratify  personal  pique 
and  obtain  selfish  ends.  He  was  a  slave  to  the  lowest  passions,  and 
unprincipled  in  all  his  methods  of  gratifying  them.  His  present 
wife  was  the  wife  of  a  petty  king,  whom  he  had  enticed  away  from 
her  husband  by  the  help  of  an  astrologer.  He  is  said  to  have  had 
all  the  imperiousness  of  a  king  coupled  with  all  the  meanness  of  a 
slave. 

1.  Paul  accused. — This  was  the  man  before  whom  Paul  was 
brought  for  trial.  His  accuser,  the  hired  attorney,  charged  him  with 
being  four  things  :  (i)  A  pestilent  fellow,  (ii)  A  mover  of  sedition 
among  the  Jews  throughout  the  world,  (iii)  A  ringleader  among 
the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes.  (iv)  A  profaner  of  the  Temple.  Every 
one  of  them  lies  except  the  last,  which  had  a  half  truth  in  it,  and  was 
therefore  the  worst  lie  of  them  all.  What  an  outrageous  charge  this 
was  against  Paul,  let  every  line  in  his  heroic,  self-sacrificing,  big, 
and  tender-hearted  life  refute.  But  the  Jews  were  never  careful  of 
the  truth  when  they  had  a  point  to  make  against  Christ  or  his  fol- 
lowers. How  would  Paul  meet  these  charges?  Look  at  him  !  An 
old  man  before  his  time ;  his  body  all  worn  and  marred  with  vio- 
lence, beatings,  and  chains  which  he  had  suffered  ;  his  face  wrinkled 
with  the  hardships  through  which  he  had  passed;  his  eyes  weak 
through  disease  ;  his  hair  white  prematurely.  Look  at  the  man  as 
he  stands  there,  full  of  gentle  dignity,  and  his  eyes,  though  weak  in 
their  setting,  full  of  spirit  and  fire,  burning  with  the  steady  light  of 
honest  indignation  and  conscious  integrity.  I  can  fancy  his  spare 
figure,  at  best  of  small  stature,  towering  in  dignity,  and,  in  spite  of 
the  many  beatings  and  much  ill-usage  he  had  suffered,  holding  itself 
with  the  grace  and  courtesy  which  his  innate  gentlemanliness  gave 
to  it. 

2.  His  address  to  Felix. — Tertullus  had  addressed  Felix  with 
fulsome  words  of  flattery  which  both  he  and  the  governor  knew  to 
be  false  and  hypocritical;  but  it  was  his  method  of  procedure  to 
flatter  the  bribe-taker  and  curry  favor  with  the  man  by  tickling  his 
vanity  on  those  very  points  where  he  knew  himself  to  be  the  weak- 
est in  character.  Good  deeds,  clemency,  provident  care,  and  nobil- 
ity were  personal  qualities  which  would  blush  to  be  found  in  the 
presence  of  this  monster  of  cruelty,  injustice,  heartlessness,  and  dis- 
honesty. If  Tertullus  was  a  flatterer,  was  not  Paul  one  also?  Did 
he  not  address  the  governor  in  terms  of  extreme  courtesy?  Yes,  he 
did  that,  for  Paul,  though  not  a  pleader  in  the  technical  sense,  was 
at  least  and  always  a  gentleman.     There  was  but  one  point  to  which 


PAUL  AT  THE  BAR  OF  ROME.         279 

Paul  could  allude  without  being  either  a  flatterer  or  a  sycophant. 
Felix  had  for  a  comparatively  long  time  been  the  governor  of  the 
province.  He  at  least  knew  the  Roman  law,  which  was  just,  and  the 
manners,  customs,  and  general  doctrines  of  the  Jews,  both  from  per- 
sonal study^^nd  because  of  his  present  wife,  who  was  a  Jewess. 
Besides,  he  was  the  authorized  governor  or  ruler  of  the  people,  and 
as  such,  for  the  sake  of  his  office  (if  not  for  his  character),  was  en- 
titled to  respect.  So  far  Paul  went,  and  no  farther.  The  contrast 
between  the  .flattery  of  Tertullus  and  the  courteous  but  reserved  ad- 
dress of  Paul  must  have  struck  Felix,  and  though  he  might  not  have 
liked  it,  could  not,  even  with  his  deadened  manhood,  but  respect  the 
man  who  could  thus  speak. 

3.  His  general  denial. — Paul  said  that  he  cheerfully  answered 
for  himself.  He  had  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of.  He  had  no  wit- 
nesses to  produce,  but  he  did  enter  a  dignified  denial  to  all  the 
charges  alleged  against  him,  and  appealed  to  the  governor's  sense  of 
right  and  the  logic  of  things  to  support  his  denials  against  the 
grossly  f  al«e  charges  brought  against  him.  Innocence  and  truth  are 
the  best  defense  which  a  man  can  have.  Thus  armed,  it  is  not  nec- 
essary to  resort  to  any  special  pleading.  It  is  not  always  that  an 
innocent  man  can  make  his  innocence  appear,  nor  a  truthful  man 
bring  forth  his  truth  so  that  men  will  acknowledge  it ;  yet  they  are 
still  a  man's  best  defense,  and  as  a  rule  are  mighty  and  will  prevail. 
The  defense  of  Paul  was,  besides,  a  most  skillful  one,  and  showed 
that  he  knew  well  how  to  present  his  case,  (i)  There  was  the  ele- 
ment of  time.  There  had  been  but  twelve  days  since  he  entered 
Jerusalem.  How  had  they  been  spent?  The  first  day  was  spent 
with  James  and  the  elders.  The  next  seven  days  were  spent  in 
performing  an  orthodox  religious  rite  in  the  Temple.  The  next  day 
he  was  under  arrest,  appeared  before  the  Sanhedrim  in  the  custody 
of  the  chief  captain,  and  the  next  five  days  had  been  spent  in  im- 
prisonment in  Cesarea.  Here  are  fourteen  days  in  all,  or  twelve 
days  exclusive  of  the  day  of  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem  and  the  present 
day  in  which  he  now  stood  before  the  governor.  Now,  how  could 
he  have  had  time  to  stir  up  strife  and  sedition  in  the  city?  His  time 
had  been  fullj'  accounted  for.  As  to  being  a  "  pestilent  fellow,"  that 
was  a  general  charge  against  his  character,  which  had  nothing  to  do 
with  actions,  and  which  counted  for  nothing  except  a  bitter  word 
used  to  prejudice  him  before  his  judge,  but  for  which  there  was  not 
the  slightest  proof.  As  for  being  a  defiler  of  the  Temple,  he  had 
spent  seven  of  his  days  in  the  Temple,  actually  performing  in  a  rever- 
ent manner  and  paying  the  proper  charges  for  an  orthodox  rite.    He 


280  PAUL    BEFORE    FELIX. 

was  honoring  both  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  Temple,  The  governor 
must  see  for  himself  that  these  charges  were  utterly  groundless. 
No  man  had  seen  him  in  the  Temple,  nor  in  the  synagogue,  nor  in 
the  street,  arguing  with,  much  less  stirring  up,  the  people,  (ii)  He 
accounts  for  his  presence  in  Jerusalem.  Being  a  devout  lover  of  his 
nation,  though  a  Nazarene,  he  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem  with  the 
express  purpose  of  worshiping,  that  is,  of  being  present  at  the  feast 
of  Pentecost  and  participating  in  the  general  gladness  of  that  day. 
How  could  he,  then,  be  charged  with  profaning  the  Temple  ?  More- 
over, as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  he  had  been  for  days  engaged 
in  actual  ceremonial  worship  according  to  the  law  of  Moses  and  the 
usages  of  the  Temple.  Besides  this  he  had  come  with  the  specific 
intention  and  for  the  express  purpose  of  bringing  a  large  alms  Avhich 
he  had  collected  for  the  poor  and  distressed  believers  in  Jerusalem 
from  the  richer  churches  in  Asia  and  Europe.  How  was  this  con- 
sistent with  the  charge  of  sedition,  desecration,  and  hatred  of  the 
people?  (iii)  He  challenges  proof  of  any  and  all  of  the  charges 
made  against  him.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  real  breeders  of  the 
disturbance  and  instigators  of  the  arrest  were  certain  Asiatic  Jews, 
who,  strange  to  say,  were  not  present  to  substantiate  any  charges 
which  they  had  to  make,  or  to  justify  their  proceedings  in  exciting 
the  mob,  which  had  already  beaten  and  maltreated  him.  As  for  the 
Jews  who  were  now  persecuting  him,  he  challenged  them  to  testify 
to  any  single  act  of  which  he  had  been  guilty  which  would  support 
the  charges  they  had  that  day  made  against  him.  Thus  did  Paul 
nobly  and  fearlessly  defend  himself  and  put  his  accusers  to  shame 
before  the  governor  from  whom  they  had  hoped  to  gain  an  easy 
verdict. 

4.  A  noble  confession. — There  was  one  charge  to  which  he 
paid  particular  attention.  He  was  charged  with  being  the  ringleader 
of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes.  This  charge  was  made  in  the  form 
and  spirit  that  was  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  he  was  an  apos- 
tate Jew,  and  that  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes  (or  followers  of  Jesus) 
were  a  pestilent  company  whose  business  was  to  work  schism  and 
breed  dissension  among  the  Jews,  and  thus  foment  sedition  gener- 
ally. There  was  just  a  grain  of  truth  in  this  charge.  That  is,  he 
was  a  disciple  of  "the  Nazarene."  That  he  was  a  ringleader  or  a 
leader  he  would  be  proud  to  own,  if  the  sense  were  a  just  one.  This 
much,  at  any  rate,  he  would  confess,  and  let  the  Jews  and  Felix 
make  the  best  or  the  worst  of  it.  (i)  Christianity,  or  faith  in  Christ, 
is  no  heresy.  They  called  him  a  heretic,  and  the  Gospel  he  preached 
a  heresy.     But  he  affirmed  that,  though  a  follower  of  Christ,  he  was 


PAUL  AT  THE  BAR  OF  ROME.         281 

110  heretic ;  for  the  follovfing  of  Christ  involved  the  worship  of  God 
according  to  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  He  worshiped  no  new  God,  but  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
and  entertained  no  new  doctrines,  or  no  doctrines  contrary  to  those 
of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Here  we  have  a  grand  statement  of 
the  real  unity  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  religions.  There  are 
not  two,  but  one  faith.  Christianity  is  not  opposed  to  the  law  or  the 
prophets,  but  is  the  flower  and  fruit  of  them  both,  in  doctrine,  in 
fact,  in  life,  and  in  practice,  (ii)  He  declares  his  hope.  "And 
have  hope  toward  God."  This  hope  in  and  toward  God  is  based  on 
a  faith  and  expectation  which  the  leading  sect  of  the  Jews,  the 
Pharisees,  also  allow,  viz.  :  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  both 
of  the  just  and  the  unjust.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  central 
and  fundamental  fact  in  the  Christian  faith.  This  is  not  a  new 
doctrine.  Life  and  immortality  were  affirmed  in  connection  with 
the  resurrection,  by  Job,  by  David,  by  Daniel,  and  other  of  the  Old 
Testament  prophets.  It  is  true  that  it  was  only  fully  trouglit  to  light 
by  the  Gospel ;  but  just  as  the  ripe  fruit  on  the  tree  is  not  other 
than  a  part  of  the  tree  in  which  it  was  hidden  and  in  whose  bud  and 
blossoms  it  was  promised,  so  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  which  is  the 
foundation  of  our  hope  in  God,  is  a  part  of  the  Mosaic  and  prophetic 
teaching  of  the  Scriptures.  (Rom.  i,  1-4 ;  I.  Cor.  xv,  1-4 ;  I.  Pet.  i, 
21 ;  H.  Tim.  i,  9,  10.)  The  only  thing  of  all  that  might  be  alleged 
against  Paul  in  all  his  public  ministry,  either  in  Jerusalem  or  abroad, 
which  they  might  denominate  heresy,  was  his  faith  and  hope  in  God 
based  on  the  resurrection :  '^Except  it  be  for  this  one  voice,  that  I 
cried  standing  among  them  "  (on  the  steps  of  the  castle) :  "  Touching 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  I  am  called  in  question  by  you  this  day." 
(vs.  14,  15,  16,  21.)  This  charge  he  freely  confessed  and  was  proud 
to  acknowledge.  If  this  was  heresy,  then  he  was  prepared  to  stand 
by  it  and  if  need  be  to  follow  his  Master  to  death  for  it.  But  in 
that  case  let  his  accusers  know  that  in  condemning  him  they  denied 
their  own  Scriptures  and  destroyed  the  hope  which  they  as  a  nation 
had,  even  as  their  fathers  nearly  thirty  years  before  had  murdered 
their  hopes  when  they  delivered  Jesus  up  to  be  crucified. 

5.  A  good  conscience. — In  the  twenty-third  chapter,  at  the  first 
verse,  Paul  declared  to  his  countrymen  to  whom  he  was  about  to 
speak :  "  I  have  lived  in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  this 
day."  Now  before  this  conscienceless  governor  he  exalts  the  con- 
science, and  declares  that  it  is  a  matter  in  which  he  exercises  him- 
self to  have  it  always  void  of  offense.  The  conscience  in  itself  is 
not  a  sufficient  guide  for  man,  but  when  properly  instructed  and 


282  PAUL   BEFORE   FELIX. 

duly  exercised  it  becomes  the  very  voice  of  God  to  the  soul.  It  is 
at  least  the  ear  of  the  soul  through  which  God  speaks.  At  first  the 
connection  between  conscience  and  the  matter  of  Paul's  discourse 
does  not  appear ;  but  a  little  attention  will  show  it.  Religion  is  the 
sum  of  the  soul's  activity  toward  God  and  man.  Conscience  is  the 
monitor  of  the  soul,  but  behind  and  beyond  the  conscience  is  God. 
God  is  known  to  us  through  the  Scriptures  of  revelation,  and  the 
conscience  is  purged,  purified,  and  made  a  fit  and  perfect  instrument 
by  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  which  has  redeemed  and  purged  it  and 
brought  it  over  to  God's  side.  (Heb.  x,  22;  I.  Pet.  i,  15,  16,  21.) 
Belief  in  the  Scriptures  and  hope  toward  God  through  the  resurrec- 
tion (vs.  14,  15)  are  the  two  great  teachers  and  keepers  of  the  con- 
science. But  conscience  must  be  exercised.  A  theoretical  code  of 
life  toward  God  and  man  will  not  do,  neither  will  conscience  be  able 
to  carry  a  man  through  the  great  or  even  the  small  crises  of  life,  un- 
less it  is  constantly  exercised.  The  exercise  of  the  conscience  is  a 
matter  which  every  Christian  should  daily  attend  to. 

6.  The  case  postponed. — Felix,  who  had  a  "more  perfect 
knowledge  of  that  way," — that  is,  he  understood  the  whole  con- 
troversy between  the  Jews  and  the  Christians,  and  was  intimate 
with  all  the  facts  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  "the  Way," — saw  the 
absurdity  of  the  charges  which  the  Jews  brought  against  Paul,  and 
the  soundness  of  his  defense,  and  practically  acquitted  Paul,  though 
he  did  not  release  him.  On  the  other  hand,  he  simply  adjourned 
the  case  on  the  technical  plea  that  he  must  wait  for  Lysias,  the  chief 
captain,  to  come  down  and  give  his  version  of  the  case,  as  there  were 
no  witnesses  produced  either  for  or  against  the  prisoner.  The  real 
reason  for  the  suspended  verdict  of  acquittal  was  that  Felix  enter- 
tained the  hope  that  either  Paul  or  his  friends  would  offer  him  a 
large  sum  of  money  for  his  release,  (v.  26.)  His  favor  was  intimated 
in  the  large  courtesies  and  liberty  he  allowed  him  in  his  imprison- 
ment, (v.  23.)  For  two  years  this  crafty,  avaricious  governor  kept 
Paul,  nor  ever  attempted  to  make  any  further  inquiry  into  his  case. 

II.— FELIX  BEFORE  PAUL. 

There  are  some  strange  reversals  of  positions  in  the  tragedy  of 
Christianity  in  conflict  with  the  wickedness  of  this  world.  No  one 
can  read  either  the  story  of  Christ  before  Pilate  or  Paul  before  Felix 
without  saying  as  a  matter  of  fact  in  both  cases  it  is  the  judge  who 
is  under  trial  before  the  prisoner. 

1.  A  private  sermon  to  a  small  audience. — After  some  days 


FELIX   BEFORE   PAUL.  283 

of  absence  from  Cesarea,  Felix  returned,  and  at  the  instance  of 
Drusilla,  his  Jewish  wife  (the  daughter  of  Agi'ippa  L,  who  had  caused 
James  to  be  beheaded,  and  who  was  herself  the  lawful  wife  of  Aziz 
the  King  of  Amesa,  but  whom  Felix  had  enticed  away  to  himself), 
sent  for  Paul  to  hear  what  he  might  have  to  say  concerning  the  faith 
of  Christ,  This  was  a  small  company,  but  Paul  would  not  shrink 
from  all  endeavors  to  win  their  souls,  though  he  knew  their  wicked- 
ness. He  would  not  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  it  afforded  him 
of  pleading  his  own  cause  or  of  compounding  for  his  liberty  by  the 
payment  of  money.  He  saw  his  opportunity  and  promptly  embraced 
it.  Neither  did  he  shun  to  "declare  ...  all  the  counsel  of  God"  to 
these  two  almost  royal  sinners.  It  has  been  said  that  Paul  did  not 
preach  the  Gospel  to  them  on  this  occasion ;  that  his  sermon  was  a 
mere  moral  essay.  Well,  Paul  could  not  have  preached  this  sermon 
without  reference  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  is  the  Gospel ;  but  he  pre- 
sented the  truth  that  these  two  sinners  most  needed.  It  is  of  no  use 
preaching  forgiveness  of  sins  to  men  who  have  no  consciousness  of 
sin.  Paul  sought  to  arouse  their  consciences.  He  at  least  caused 
Felix  to  tremble.  That  sermons  on  morality  be  preached,  will  never 
be  objected  to,  if  they  only  prick  the  conscience  and  cause  the  sin- 
ners who  hear  them  to  tremble.    Paul  had  three  heads  to  this  sermon. 

(i)  Temperance.  By  that  he  did  not  mean  total  abstinence  from 
the  use  of  wine  and  strong  drink,  though  he  might  have  preached 
such  a  sermon  to  them  and  have  done  well.  But  the  temperance  which 
he  preached  was  that  law  of  self-restraint  and  self-government  which 
is  the  final  proof  of  a  new  life  in  God,  and  which  had  never  been 
once  in  his  life  exercised  by  Felix.  Whatever  he  wanted  he  took. 
If  he  wanted  money,  he  got  it  by  fair  means  or  by  foul.  If  a  high- 
priest  was  in  his  way,  he  would  have  him  assassinated  if  he  did 
not  die  soon  enough  of  his  own  accord.  If  he  wanted  another  man's 
wife,  he  took  her.  He  was  a  man  of  imbridled  passion  and  limitless 
self-indulgence.     Against  these  Paul  preached. 

(ii)  Righteousness.  That  is,  that  course  of  life  which  recognizes 
the  right  which  God  has  in  us  both  to  obedience  and  service,  and 
•which  our  neighbor  has  in  us  because  we  are  both  God's  creatures 
and  the  subjects  of  his  moral  government.  Indeed,  the  righteous- 
ness which  Paul  preached  to  Felix  was  that  line  of  conscientious  con- 
duct toward  God  and  man  which  Paul  in  all  good  endeavor  and  truth 
exercised  himself. 

(iii)  Judgment  to  come.  Here  he  clearly  pointed  out  to  Felix  that 
God  would  certainly  bring  every  work  of  man  into  judgment,  and 
that  he  had  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  would  judge  the  world  by 


284  PAUL   BEFORE    FELIX. 

Jesus  Christ,  whereof  he  had  given  the  world  witness  and  warning 
by  raising  him  from  the  dead.  (Acts  xvii,  30,  31.)  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  Gospel  preaching  in  this  "moral  sermon"  of  Paul's. 
The  effect  of  it  upon  the  conscience  of  Felix  was  marked.  He  came 
to  hear  something  which  would  entertain  him  and  gratify  his  curi- 
osity, "but  he  heard  something  he  did  not  care  to  hear,  and  which 
made  him  uncomfortable  for  at  least  a  time.  We  cannot  sufficiently 
admire  the  boldness,  the  faithfulness,  and  the  great-hearted  unself- 
ishness of  the  noble  Apostle  when  we  consider  both  the  circum- 
stances under  which  he  preached  that  sermon  and  the  truths  which 
he  delivered.  Would  we  were  all  likewise  faithful  both  to  the  truth 
and  to  our  opportunities  ! 

2.  Felix  strangles  his  conscience. — It  would  seem  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  working  with  the  word  had  convinced  Felix  "  of  sin  and 
of  righteousness  and  of  judgment,"  and  that  his  conscience  was  fairly 
reached.  But  it  did  not  suit  Felix  to  give  up  his  sins,  any  more 
than  it  did  Herod  to  give  up  his  brother  Philip's  wife  at  the  bidding 
of  John  the  Baptist,  or  Pilate  to  obey  his  convictions  of  duty  and  to 
free  Jesus  at  the  hazard  of  losing  favor  with  Rome  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Jews,  or  the  young  ruler  to  sell  all  that  he  had  and  follow 
Christ  when  he  was  challenged  as  to  the  measure  of  his  interest  in 
the  possession  of  eternal  life.  So  he  did  the  only  other  thing  which 
is  left  to  a  crafty  and  insincere  man.  He  did  not  drive  Paul  from 
his  presence  as  Pharaoh  did  Moses,  nor  behead  him  as  Herod  did 
Pilate  or  as  Agrippa  did  James ;  he  Just  shook  himself  free  from  the 
present  thrall  of  the  Apostle's  word,  and  said  for  a  makeshift,  "  Go 
thy  way  for  this  time ;  when  I  have  a  convenient  season,  I  will  call 
for  thee."  That  season  never  came  to  Felix.  Perhaps  he  did  not 
want  it  to  come.  Let  us,  however,  forget  Felix  for  a  moment  and 
look  at  the  peril  of  adopting  this  popular  and  common  plea  of  pro- 
crastination in  the  face  of  the  urgency  of  the  Gospel,  (i)  To  post- 
pone attention  to  God's  command  is  folly,  for  no  man  knows  that  he 
has  another  day  or  season  at  his  disposal,  (ii)  It  is  presumption, 
for  it  implies  a  deliberate  intention  to  live  still  longer  in  sin,  sup- 
posing that  God  will  compound  that  felony,  (iii)  It  is  dangerous, 
for  no  man  knows  to  what  extent  he  will  become  entangled  hope- 
lessly in  sin  before  he  finds  it  convenient  to  turn  to  the  Lord,  (iv) 
It  is  suicidal,  because  the  habit  of  postponement,  or  unbelief,  stead- 
ily deadens  the  power  of  faith,  and  leads  to  the  final  hardening  of 
the  heart,  (v)  It  is  presumptuous,  because  it  assumes  that  salva- 
tion is  a  pure  matter  of  the  individual  will,  and  not  of  the  sovereign 
grace  of  God,  who  calls  us  to  it. 


XXXV. 

PAUL   BEFORE  AGRIPPA.— Acts  xxvi,    19-32. 

(19)  Whereupon,  O  king  Agrippa,  I  was  not  disobedient  unto  the  heav- 
enly vision :  (20)  But  shewed  first  unto  them  of  Damascus,  and  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  throughout  all  the  coasts  of  Judea,  and  then  to  the  Gentiles,  that 
they  should  repent  and  turn  to  God,  and  do  works  meet  for  repentance. 
(21)  For  these  causes  the  Jews  caught  me  in  the  temple,  and  went  about  to 
kill  me.  (22)  Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue  unto  this 
day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great,  saying  none  other  things  than 
those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come:  (23)  That  Christ 
should  suffer,  and  that  he  should  be  the  first  that  should  rise  from  the  dead, 
and  should  shew  light  unto  the  people,  and  to  the  Gentiles.  (24)  And  as  he 
thus  spake  for  himself,  Festus  said  with  a  loud  voice,  Paul,  thou  art  beside 
thyself ;  much  learning  doth  maka  thee  mad.  (25)  But  he  said,  I  am  not 
mad,  most  noble  Festus;  but  speak  forth  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness. 
(26)  For  the  king  knoweth  of  these  things,  before  whom  also  I  speak  freely: 
for  I  am  persuaded  that  none  of  these  things  are  hidden  from  him;  for  this 
thing  was  not  done  in  a  corner.  (27)  King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the 
prophets?  I  know  that  thou  believest.  (28)  Then  Agrippa  said  untoIPaul, 
Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian.  (29)  And  Paul  said,  I  would 
to  God,  that  not  only  thou,  but  also  all  that  hear  me  this  day,  were  both 
almost,  and  altogether  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds.  (30)  And  when 
he  had  thus  spoken,  the  king  rose  up,  and  the  governor,  and  Bernice,  and 
they  that  sat  with  them :  (31)  And  when  they  were  gone  aside,  they  talked 
between  themselves,  saying.  This  man  doeth  nothing  worthy  of  death  or  of 
bonds.  (32)  Then  said  Agrippa  unto  Festus,  This  man  might  have  been  set 
at  liberty,  if  he  had  not  appealed  unto  Cesar.— Acts  xxvi,  19-33. 

For  two  long  years  Paul  had  been  kept  a  close  prisoner  by  Felix 
at  Cesarea.  No  further  attempt  had  been  made  by  the  Jews  to  get 
possession  of  him.  The  chief  captain  never  came  down  to  give  any 
detailed  account  of  the  matter.  Felix  trembled  at  his  last  interview 
with  Paul  when  he  heard  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judg- 
ment to  come.  Why  did  not  Felix  release  Paul,  whom  he  knew  to 
be  innocent  ?  First,  because  he  hoped  to  get  some  money  for  doing 
so,  either  from  Paul  or  his  friends.  But  Paul  was  not  a  man  who 
would  buy  himself  out  of  prison.  He  would  have  an  honorable  ac- 
quittal or  none,  (xvi,  37.)  This  attitude  of  Paul  probably  piqued 
Felix,  and  he  simply  left  Paul  in  prison  out  of  sheer  wantonness. 
It  does  not  appear  that  Paul  suffered  from  his  confinement,  for 
though  it  was  close  it  was  not  rigorous.  He  had  his  books  (as  we 
learn  from  our  present  study),  and  full  permission  was  given  to  his 


286  PAUL  BEFORE  AGRIPPA. 

friends  to  visit  him.  (xxiv,  23.)  It  is  strange  that  there  should  be 
no  account  of  this  long  imprisonment  that  dropped  out  two  years  of 
that  marvelously  active  life.  But  God  saw,  no  doubt,  that  he  needed 
the  rest  and  recuperation  of  his  physical  strength  for  what  was  yet 
before  him :  shipwreck,  chains,  prison  at  Rome,  and  finally  death. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  Felix  was  superseded  in  his  office  by 
Festus,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  much  better  type  of  man,  indeed, 
a  worthy  Roman ;  even  Paul  addressed  him  as  "most  noble  Festus," 
and  he  was  no  court  flatterer.  If  Paul  called  him  noble,  he  was 
noble.  After  arriving  on  the  coast  he  almost  immediately  went  up 
to  Jerusalem  to  confer  with  the  political  and  religious  leaders  of  the 
Jews  and  thus  get  his  bearings  before  entering  upon  the  practical 
discharge  of  his  duties.  The  Jews  at  once  importuned  him  to  deliver 
Paul  up  to  them  to  be  tried  by  their  law,  but  really  that  they  might 
have  opportunity  to  assassinate  him.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  those 
Jews  who  vowed  two  years  ago  that  they  would  not  eat  or  drink 
until  they  had  killed  Paul  had  kept  their  vow  and  were  comfortably 
starved  to  death !  Festus  would  not  consent  to  the  proposition, 
though  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  begun  his  reign  by  showing 
them  a  favor.  He  bade  them  come  down  if  they  had  anything  to 
offer,  and  he  would  give  them  an  immediate  hearing.  They  followed 
the  governor  to  Cesarea,  and  again  Paul  was  brought  before  the 
judgment  bar,  and  for  a  third  time  repeated  his  defense,  and  for  a 
third  time  convinced  the  authorities  that  there  was  no  wrong  in 
him ;  yet  he  was  made  a  sport  and  political  scapegoat,  so  that  to 
save  himself  from  being  delivered  over  to  the  Jews  he  appealed  to 
Csesar.  A  few  days  after.  King  Agrippa  and  his  sister  Bernice  paid 
a  visit  of  ceremony  to  Festus,  who  among  other  things  told  the  king 
of  Paul's  case,  asking  his  advice,  and  proposing  that  they  should 
hear  him,  so  that  he  might  with  the  aid  of  Agrippa's  counsel  know 
what  to  write  to  the  emperor  about  him,  since  he  had  appealed  his 
case  to  Rome.  This  brought  Paul  again  to  the  court,  but  this  time 
to  a  private  and  informal  hearing,  rather  to  give  an  account  of  his 
doctrine  concerning  Jesus  Christ.  Festus  and  his  royal  guests  were 
his  auditors.  He  began  his  address  by  setting  before  them  the 
manner  of  his  life  as  a  Jew  before  his  conversion,  his  activity  in 
persecuting  Christians,  and  finally  for  the  second  time  he  gives  in 
detail  the  story  of  his  conversion  and  the  commission  which  he  re- 
ceived from  the  Lord  Jesus  to  preach  the  Gospel  among  the  Gen- 
tiles. In  the  three  accounts  we  have  of  the  conversion  of  Paul — one 
related  by  Luke  (doubtless  as  he  had  received  it  privately  from 
Paul),  and  twice  related  by  Paul  himself  (once  as  he  stood  on  the 


THE  HEAVENLY  VISION.  287 

castle  steps  to  the  Jews,  and  now  before  Festus  and  Agrippa) — we 
have  a  pretty  sure  guaranty  that  the  facts  related  were  those  of  truth 
and  soberness  and -not  of  mere  delusion,  much  less  of  fraud  or  fiction. 

I.— THE  HEAVENLY  VISION. 

Paul  said,  after  detailing  what  he  saw  and  heard  in  connection 
with  his  meeting  with  Jesus,  that  he  was  not  "  disobedient  unto  the 
heavenly  vision."  The  whole  tone  of  this  remarkable  address  is  one 
of  suppressed  joy  and  gladness.  After  nearly  thirty  years,  the  facts 
connected  with  his  conversion  come  back  to  him  freighted  with  such 
gladness  that  his  whole  being  is  awakened  into  a  sublime  enthusi- 
asm, and  he  delights  in  telling  the  story  and  taking  opportunity  of 
pressing  life  and  salvation  upon  his  hearers. 

1.  Paul's  obedience. — '' Wherefore,  O  King  Agrippa,  I  was  not 
disobedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision."  Every  conversion  is  the  re- 
sult of  a  spiritual  vision  of  heavenly  things.  All  of  us  have  not  had 
the  exact  experience  of  Paul  in  this  respect,  but  we  have  all  had  a 
vision  of  the  same  Christ  and  of  the  will  of  God  concerning  us.  We 
do  not  need  the  actual  vision  of  Christ  now,  since  we  have  the  com- 
pleted record  to  guide  us,  and  the  power  of  faith  to  bring  unseen 
things  within  the  range  of  our  minds  and  souls  and  to  render  them 
into  substantial  realities.  We  learn  also  from  Paul's  declaration 
that  it  is  possible,  even  with  such  a  revelation  as  he  had,  to  be  dis- 
obedient to  it.  Many  a  man  has  been  clearly  convinced  of  the  truth 
by  the  power  of  the  word  and  the  Spirit,  as  Paul  was  by  the  actual 
vision  of  Christ,  and  has  turned  away  in  disobedience,  even  as  Felix 
did,  as  Agrippa  was  about  to  do.  Faith  is  not  simply  believing  a 
thing  to  be  true,  but  it  is  so  believing  that  it  starts  the  soul  into 
action  toward  the  thing  believed,  if  it  is  in  itself  calculated  to  move 
the  soul.  In  the  case  of  the  Gospel,  faith  is  the  obedience  of  the 
whole  man  to  the  word  of  God,  the  soul  submitting  itself  meantime 
to  Christ.  In  Paul's  case,  his  obedience  was  seen  in  his  prompt  ac- 
ceptance of  Jesus  as  his  Saviour  and  Lord,  and  his  equally  prompt 
acceptance  of  the  commission  he  then  and  there  received  to  preach 
the  Gospel  among  the  Gentiles,  even  though  he  was  forewarned  that 
it  was  a  work  which  would  involve  much  suffering.  When  he  cried 
out :  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  he  meant  not  only  to 
make  an  inquiry  but  to  declare  his  readiness  to  obey  the  word  of  the 
Lord  in  all  things.  True  conversion  involves  immediate  surrender 
to  Christ  and  immediate  obedience  to  his  commands. 

2.  The  field  of  Paul's  obedience.— This  was  fourfold,     (i) 


288  PAUL  BEFORE  AGRIPPA. 

First  in  Damascus,  that  city  toward  wliieli  lie  jom^neyed  to  arrest 
and  bind  Christians.  Thither  he  went  and  preached  to  them  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ.  He  began  to  do  good  in  the  very  place  where 
he  had  planned  to  do  evil.  Surely  this  was  evidence  of  a  real  change 
of  heart,  (ii)  "At  Jerusalem/'  in  that  city  where  he  had  actually 
persecuted  the  people  of  God,  where  he  had  been  ringleader  in  the 
martyrdom  of  Stephen — in  the  city  and  among  the  rulers  who  had 
given  him  commission  to  arrest  and  bring  Christians  bound  and 
doomed  to  death.  There  he  in  the  next  place  repaired  to  preach  the 
faith  he  had  once  sought  to  destroy,  (iii)  ''Throughout  all  the 
coasts  of  Judea."  Thus  he  widened  the  circle  of  his  labors,  but  still 
among  his  own  countrymen  and  in  the  territory  and  near  the  seat 
of  the  tragedy  of  the  crucifixion  and  the  triumph  of  the  resurrection. 
He  first  declared  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  in  the  very  places  where 
he  could  have  been  easily  refuted  if  it  had  been  possible  to  deny  it. 
(iv)  Finally  "to  the  Gentiles."  These  were  they  to  whom  he  was 
chiefly  commissioned  to  go.  After  having  cleared  the  way  to  the 
Gentiles  by  preaching  first  to  the  Jews,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  among  the  former. 

3.  Paul's  message  to  all  men. — The  Gospel  which  he  preached 
was  the  same  Gospel  to  all,  and  it  had  for  its  chief  command  this, 
or  these  three  things  :  (i)  That  they  should  repent.  That  is,  change 
their  minds  and  take  God's  view  of  things,  (ii)  That,  having 
changed  their  minds,  they  should  turn  their  hearts  and  their  lives 
to  God.  This  is  the  end  of  repentance,  namely,  to  reconcile  us  to 
God.  (iii)  That  they  should  do  works  meet  for  repentance.  True 
repentance  and  true  faith  are  seen  in  works  which  show  the  law 
written  in  the  heart  and  not  on  external  tables  of  stone.  The  thief 
ceases  to  steal  because  he  has  learned  to  hate  stealing ;  and  so  the 
liar  ceases  to  lie  because  he  now  hates  the  lie  and  loves  the  truth. 
He  who  ceases  to  live  an  unclean  life  and  begins  to  live  a  chaste  and 
virtuous  one,  does  so  because  he  has  come  into  similarity  of  feeling 
with  God  on  all  these  and  other  points  of  morals.  Thus  did  Paul 
teach  the  word  of  God  to  both  Jew  and  Gentile. 

4.  Paul's  offense  to  the  Jews. — "For  these  causes  the  Jews 
caught  me  in  the  Temple  and  went  about  to  kill  me."  That  is,  for 
declaring  the  resurrection  and  the  divine  Sonship  of  Jesus,  whom 
they  had  rejected  and  crucified,  and  that  God's  salvation  was  through 
him  extended  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  the  Jews.  The  offense  of 
the  cross  has  not  ceased  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  the  narrow- 
ness and  bigotry  of  the  Jew  is  seen  in  many  people  who  are  not 
Jews  by  birth  and  blood.     The  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the 


PAUL'S   GOSPEL.  289 

one  point  on  which  unbelievers  vent  their  wrath,  for  if  it  be  true, 
there  is  absolutely  no  ground  for  unbelievers  to  stand  on,  and  their 
condemnation  is  certain. 

II.— PAUL'S   GOSPEL. 

Having  stated  the  ground  of  the  Jewish  opposition  and  hatred, 
he  turns  again  to  explain  further  to  his  royal  hearers  concerning  the 
Gospel  and  his  relation  to  it,  as  his  conduct  as  well  as  his  teachings 
was  in  question. 

1.  Paul's  steadfastness. — He  glories  in  the  fact  that  from  the 
day  he  had  met  Christ  and  received  his  commission  he  had  never 
swerved  from  his  work  in  carrying  it  out.  "  I  continue  until  this 
day  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great.''  Paul  was  "not  ashamed 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,"  nor  of  being  "the  messenger  of  Christ," 
and,  like  his  Master,  he  had  no  respect  of  persons.  He  declared  the 
good  tidings,  as  we  have  seen,  to  both  Jew  and  Gentile ;  and  now 
he  adds,  "both  to  small  and  great."  Just  now  he  was  preaching  to 
the  great,  but  he  as  gladly  declared  it  to  the  small  and  humble  of 
the  world.  In  this,  his  work  and  methods,  he  ever  continued  stead- 
fast. If  Paul  had  been  a  mere  fanatic,  his  twenty-eight  years  of  ex- 
perience in  connection  with  his  mission  would  have  taken  any  false 
enthusiasm  out  of  him.  Stripes,  imprisonments,  hunger  and  priva- 
tion, wild  beasts  at  Ephesus,  shackles  and  bonds  had  been  his  por- 
tion, yet  he  continued  until  this  day  saying  and  doing  none  other 
things  than  those  whereof  he  spoke. 

2.  Help  from  God. — Paul  was  no  boaster.  He  would  not  have 
his  hearers  understand  him  as  having  been  able  of  himself  to  have 
continued  this  work  for  all  these  years.  It  was  not  man's  work, 
and  so  it  was  not  work  done  in  the  mere  energy  of  the  flesh. 
"Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,"  he  had  been  enabled  to 
continue  until  this  day.  Jesus  had  said,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always " ;  and  Paul  here  declares  that  he  had  found  this  promise 
true. 

3.  Paul's  Gospel  again.— Having  said  so  much,  he  returns 
again  to  the  message  which  he  delivered  and  had  been  delivering  all 
these  years.  He  first  declares  that  it  is  not  a  new  Gospel,  especially 
not  a  heretical  or  a  schismatic  statement  of  doctrine  contrary  to  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  the  Jews  accused  him  of  teaching.  '^  Saying 
none  other  things  than  those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say 
should  come."  Again  Paul  is  careful  to  identify  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
with  the  law  and  the  prophets,  as  the  flower  and  fruit  are  identified 


290  PAUL  BEFORE  AGRIPPA. 

■with  the  stock  and  stem  on  which  they  grow.  Christ  did  not  come 
to  destroy  the  law  and  the  prophets,  but  to  fulfill  them.  Analyzing 
these  teachings,  he  reduces  them  to  three  points :  (i)  The  sacrifi- 
cial death  of  Christ.  "  That  Christ  should  suffer."  This  is  the  bur- 
den of  the  prophets  concerning  the  Messiah.  He  is  a  suffering  Mes- 
siah, as  is  shown  in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  which  sums  up 
all  the  Messianic  prophecies.  Jesus  himself  expounded  the  prophets 
to  his  disciples  on  this  point.  (Luke  xxiv,  23-25,  44—46. )  (ii)  The 
resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead.  "  That  he  should  be  the  first 
that  should  rise  from  the  dead."  This  Gospel  includes  and  is  founded 
on  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead,  who  thus 
brought  to  light  life  and  immortality,  and  made  a  solid  ground  for 
hope,  by  confirming  the  Scriptures  which  had  promised  this  thing, 
by  declaring  that  Jesus  w^as  none  other  than  the  Son  of  God,  and  by 
confirming  and  ratifying  the  atonement,  on  the  ground  of  which  God 
can  and  does  forgive  sins.  That  he  was  the  first  to  rise  from  the 
dead  is  sometimes  questioned ;  but  the  meaning  is  that  his  resurrec- 
tion was  the  wave  sheaf  of  the  whole  resurrection  harvest.  The 
resurrection  of  Lazarus,  for  instance,  guaranteed  nothing.  He  no 
doubt  died  again.  But  Jesus  was  ''the  resurrection  and  the  life." 
He  dies  no  more,  but  brought  immortality  to  light  and  made  it  sure 
to  all  who  believe  on  him.  (iii)  To  "  show  light  unto  the  people  and 
to  the  Gentiles."  This  also  is  the  mission  of  Jesus,  who  is  "  the  Light 
of  the  world,"  that  ''true  Light  that  lighteth  every  man  that  com- 
eth  into  the  world."  He  it  is  that  illuminates  all  our  darkness  and 
floods  all  subjects  with  that  radiancy  of  light  in  which  w^e  are  en- 
abled to  see  even  unseen  things. 

III.— THE   GOSPEL  EVADED. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Paul  was  waxing  enthusiastic,  and 
was  speaking  with  great  earnestness.  He  had  forgotten,  if  he  ever 
thought  so,  that  he  was  a  prisoner  giving  an  account  of  some  doc- 
trines for  which  he  had  been  charged  with  heresy  and  sedition,  and 
only  remembered  that  he  was  the  servant  of  God  and  the  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  there  were  at  least  three  distinguished  sinners 
before  him,  to  whom  he  might  never  again  have  an  opportunity  to 
speak.  He  longed  to  save  them  and  present  them  to  Jesus  Christ. 
They  were  in  his  sight  but  men  for  whom  Christ  died,  and  their  posi- 
tion in  the  state  and  their  relation  to  him  as  judges  did  not  alter  his 
desire  for  them.  He  was  as  anxious  as  if  they  had  been  poor  men ; 
and  so  he  rehearsed  his  story  and  preached  the  Gospel  while  so  doing. 


THE   GOSPEL   EVADED.  291 

1.  The  surprise  of  Festus. — Festus  was  a  Roman  without  any 
experience  or  knowledge  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Jews,  and 
especially  without  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  if  indeed  he 
had  ever  l)efore  heard  of  him  at  all.  (xxv,  10,  19. )  We  fancy  him 
listening  with  a  mixture  of  interest  and  amazement  as  Paul  told  the 
story  of  his  conversion.  It  was  a  most  strange  recital  to  him,  yet 
there  was  that  moral  earnestness  and  dignity  about  Paul  which 
claimed  his  respect  as  well  as  challenged  his  interest.  But  when 
Paul  comes  to  speak  of  the  resurrection,  that  was  so  startling  a 
statement,  so  new  and  unusual,  that  he  began  to  suspect  that  Paul 
was  mad,  or  that  he  was  some  eager  enthusiast  who  by  much  reading 
and  pondering  over  books  had  become  temporarily  insane,  being 
possessed  with  some  strange  religious  mania ;  so  that  he  burst  out 
with  a  loud  voice:  *^Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself;  much  learning 
doth  make  thee  mad."  We  must  see  in  this  not  mere  derision,  else 
would  he  not  have  spoken  in  this  loud  and  eager  manner.  He  was 
deeply  stirred,  and  Paul  was  exercising  some  strange  influence  over 
his  mind  by  the  solemn,  awful,  and  inspiring  truths  he  was  uttering. 
He  was  in  danger  of  being  carried  away,  and  so  he  could  not  refrain 
himself  from  crying  out  as  he  did.  To  charge  madness  on  Paul 
would  be  to  excuse  himself  from  considering  the  things  which  Paul 
was  saying.  This  is  a  convenient  way  of  evading  the  truth.  To 
denounce  the  preacher  as  a  madman  is  of  course  to  justify  one's  self 
in  paying  no  heed  to  his  sermon.  Who  is  responsible  for  the  ravings 
of  a  madman?  Fanatics  and  fools  have  no  claim  upon  our  minds 
and  consciences.  Therefore,  if  we  find  the  word  too  hot  for  us,  let 
us  denounce  the  preacher  and  declare  him  to  be  either  crazy,  a  fool, 
or  a  knave.  If  a  lawyer  does  not  want  a  jury  to  consider  some  fatal 
bit  of  evidence  which  the  opposing  counsel  has  introduced,  he  will 
fall  to  abusing  that  attorney  and  thus  distract  the  thought  of  the 
jury  from  the  testimony.  But  Paul  in  a  calm  and  dignified  manner 
denied  the  impeachment:  ''I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Festus;  but 
speak  forth  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness."  The  objective  truth 
was  sober  truth,  as  the  subjective  condition  of  his  mind  was  truth- 
fully sober.  The  dignity  of  Paul's  answer  must  have  refuted  the 
charge  which  the  governor  brought  against  him. 

2.  An  appeal  to  Agrippa. — Turning  from  Festus,  who  was  ex- 
cusable for  not  knowing  the  things  whereof  Paul  affirmed  in  respect 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  of  Jesus  and  the  faith  of  the  new 
and  young  Christian  Church,  Paul  appealed  to  Agrippa  and  added 
a  searching  question  to  his  appeal:  "The  king  knoweth  of  these 
things,  before  whom  also  I  speak  freely ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that 


292  PAUL  BEFORE  AGRIPPA. 

none  of  these  things  are  hidden  from  him ;  for  this  thing  was  not 
done  in  a  corner."  Here  was  a  challenge  to  the  knowledge  of 
Agrippa,  both  as  concerning  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  and  the 
whole  story  of  Christ.  Agrippa  does  not  deny  the  truth  of  Paul's 
statements,  and  thus  tacitly  admits  their  truth  and  confirms  them. 
The  Christian  appeals  not  to  fancy  but  to  facts  as  wrought  in 
the  open  day  and  in  the  public  highway  of  history.  This  appeal  to 
Agrippa  was  to  convince  Festus  that  his  words  were  truth  and  spoken 
out  of  a  sober  and  well-balanced  mind,  and  not  the  ravings  of  a 
maniac. 

3.  A  home  question, — Having  thus  disposed  of  the  statement 
of  Festus,  and  seeing  that  his  appeal  to  Agrippa  as  to  the  truth  of  his 
statements  had  suddenly  wrought  some  kind  of  seriousness,  perhaps 
conviction,  because  he  had  studied  "  psychology  and  physiognomy 
in  the  school  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  he  turned  abruptly  to  the  king  and 
said,  '^ King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?"  This  was,  as 
I  have  said,  a  home  question.  Had  Agrippa  been  asked  this  ques- 
tion casually  and  in  a  formal  manner,  he  would  probably  have  an- 
swered *'yes,"  without  hesitation.  But  now  it  was  put  to  him  hot 
from  the  lips  of  a  man  to  whom  the  prophets  were  the  mouth  of 
God,  and  who  had  shown  to  his  royal  auditor  that  they  had  been 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  which  the  king  did  not  deny.  If  Agrippa  had  said 
''yes,"  then  there  would  have  been  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  to 
confess  himself  a  Christian.  "I  know  that  thou  believest,"  added 
Paul,  as  he  saw  the  workings  of  his  mind  through  face  and  eye.  He 
was  determined  not  to  lose  his  advantage,  but  to  win  that  soul  if 
possible. 

4.  The  question  evaded. — Agrippa  was  fairly  cornered.  He 
must  confess,  or  extricate  himself  in  some  way  from  the  dilemma 
into  which  Paul  by  his  question  had  put  him.  He  shuffled  out  as 
many  a  man  has  done  since.  Assuming  a  half-cynical  tone,  he  says  : 
'Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian."  This  was  partly 
ironical,  though  there  was  more  than  a  grain  of  truth  in  it.  Agrippa 
wished  to  convey  this  thought :  "  That  is  a  short  method,  Paul ;  do 
you  expect  by  so  brief  an  argument  to  persuade  me  to  become  a 
Christian?  I  am  not  so  easily  persuaded  as  all  that."  And  yet 
Paul's  reply  would  imply  that  he  had  understood  Agrippa  seriously, 
that  he  was  almost  persuaded,  though  not  prepared  entirely,  to  give 
in  to  Christ. 

5.  The  Christian  gentleman.— Paul  felt  that  he  could  go  no 
further,  but  would  not  leave  the  matter  without  giving  expression 
to  his  profound  and  tender  interest  in  his  royal  auditors.     There  is 


THE   GOSPEL  EVADED.  293 

not  a  finer  speech  on  record,  both  as  to  its  touching  pathos  and  the 
deep  courtesy  of  it.  "  I  would  to  God,  that  not  only  thou,  but  also  all 
that  hear  me  this  day,  were  both  almost,  and  altogether  such  as  I  am, 
except  these  bonds."  He  would  have  them  possessed  of  all  the  joys 
of  salvation  and  freed  from  all  the  discomforts  and  heavy  trials  he 
had  endured  and  was  still  enduring  for  Christ. 

6.  The  conference  adjourned. — The  king  would  not  hear 
further.  The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  troublesome  questions  and  un- 
answerable arguments  was  to  rise  up  and  go  away  from  the  preacher. 
Like  the  young  ruler,  '^ he  went  away,"  whether  sorrowful  or  not 
does  not  appear ;  but  he  withdrew  from  the  sphere  of  Gospel  in- 
fluence, and  disappears  from  the  Gospel  history,  following  that  long 
line  of  men  who  have  strangled  their  consciences  and  committed 
soul  suicide. 

7.  Paul  acquitted. — It  was  the  common  consent  of  governor 
and  king  that  there  was  nothing  in  anything  Paul  had  done  or  said 
that  should  subject  him  to  imprisonment,  and  but  for  the  fact  that 
he  had  appealed  to  Cgesar  they  would  have  set  him  free.  That  appeal 
put  the  case  out  of  the  governor's  hands,  and  so  to  Caesar  Paul  must 
go,  and  there  win  fresh  trophies  for  his  Master. 


XXXVI. 

PAUL   SHIPWRECKED.— Acts  xxvii,  30-44. 

(30)  And  as  the  shipmen  were  about  to  flee  out  of  the  ship,  when  they 
had  let  down  the  boat  into  the  sea,  under  colour  as  though  they  would  have 
cast  anchors  out  of  the  foreship,  (31)  Paul  said  to  the  centurion  and  to  the 
soldiers.  Except  these  abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved.  (32)  Then  the 
soldiers  cut  off  the  ropes  of  the  boat,  and  let  her  fall  off.  (33)  And  while 
the  day  was  coming  on,  Paul  besought  them  all  to  take  meat,  saying.  This 
day  is  the  fourteenth  day  that  ye  have  tarried  and  continued  fasting,  hav- 
ing taken  nothing.  (34)  Wherefore  I  pray  you  to  take  some  meat ;  for  this  is 
for  your  health:  for  there  shall  not  a  hair  fall  from  the  head  of  any  of  you. 
(35)  And  when  he  had  thiis  spoken,  he  took  bread,  and  gave  thanks  to  God 
in  presence  of  them  all ;  and  when  he  had  broken  it,  he  began  to  eat.  (36) 
Then  were  they  all  of  good  cheer,  and  they  also  took  some  meat.  (37)  And 
we  were  in  all  in  the  ship  two  hundred  threescore  and  sixteen  souls.  (38) 
And  when  they  had  eaten  enough,  they  lightened  the  ship,  and  cast  out  the 
wheat  into  the  sea.  (39)  And  when  it  was  day,  they  knew  not  the  land :  but 
they  discovered  a  certain  creek  with  a  shore,  into  the  which  they  were 
minded,  if  it  were  possible,  to  thrust  in  the  ship.  (40)  And  when  they  had 
taken  up  the  anchors,  they  committed  themselves  unto  the  sea,  and  loosed 
the  rudder  bands,  and  hoised  up  the  mainsail  to  the  wind,  and  made  toward 
shore.  (41)  And  falling  into  a  place  where  two  seas  met,  they  ran  the  ship 
aground;  and  the  forepart  stuck  fast,  and  remained  unmoveable,  but  the 
hinder  part  was  broken  with  the  violence  of  the  waves.  (42)  And  the  sol- 
diers' counsel  was  to  kill  the  prisoners,  lest  any  of  them  should  swim  out, 
and  escape.  (43)  But  the  centurion,  willing  to  save  Paul,  kept  them  from 
their  purpose;  and  commanded  that  they  which  could  swim  should  cast 
themselves  first  into  the  sea,  and  get  to  land :  (44)  And  the  rest,  some  on 
boards,  and  some  on  broken  pieces  of  the  ship.  And  so  it  came  to  pass, 
that  they  escaped  all  safe  to  land.  —Acts  xxvii,  30-44. 

After  the  hearing  which  had  been  granted  to  Paul  by  Festus, 
and  the  necessity  which  was  put  upon  the  Roman  governor  to  send 
Paul  to  Eome  (because  of  his  appeal  to  Ceesar)  at  the  first  conven- 
ient opportunity,  Paul  with  his  companions,  and  presumably  some 
other  prisoners  and  a  number  of  passengers  traveling  on  business, 
embarked  on  a  trading-ship  for  Italy.  All  went  well  for  a  season, 
but  presently  it  became  advisable  to  transfer  all  the  prisoners  to 
another  ship,  which  perhaps  was  larger,  and  was  bound  direct  to 
Italy  from  Alexandria.  Fair  weather  accompanied  them,  but  Paul 
foresaw  danger  ahead,  and  warned  the  centurion  that  it  would  be 


PAUL   SHIPWRECKED.  295 

better  to  lie  by  for  the  winter  rather  than  face  a  certain  storm  which 
he  foresaw,  either  by  direct  inspiration  from  God  or  by  a  superior 
nautical  knowledge  ;  for  Paul  was  an  old  sailor,  having  made  many 
voyages  across  that  turbulent  Mediterranean,  one  of  the  most  treach- 
erous seas  in  the  world.  The  centurion,  however,  set  aside  Paul's 
advice,  and  followed  that  of  the  pilot  and  the  owner  of  the  ship  and 
cargo,  and  determined  to  go  forward.  However,  it  came  to  pass  as 
Paul  had  foretold,  and  the  ship  encountered  a  furious  storm,  which 
threatened  not  only  the  vessel  and  cargo  but  the  lives  of  all  on 
board.  In  the  meantime  God  revealed  to  Paul  by  an  angel  that  they 
should  come  out  of  the  peril  with  safety.  Paul  at  once  communi- 
cated this  intelligence  to  his  fellow-passengers,  and  especially  to  the 
centurion,  accompanied  with  a  mild  reproof  for  not  having  taken 
his  former  advice,  and  also  with  a  manly  and  glorious  declaration 
of  his  faith  in  God.  He  bade  them  be  of  good  courage,  for  God  had 
certainly  promised  him  safety  of  the  whole  crew,  though  the  ship 
would  be  destroyed  and  the  cargo  lost.  This  was  the  second  time 
Paul  the  prisoner  had  practically  taken  the  foremost  place  in  the 
ship.  Perhaps  this  time  he  was  listened  to  with  more  respect  and 
attention.  Then  came  on  dreadful  days,  in  which  they  were  tem- 
pest tossed,  until  one  midnight  by  taking  sounding  they  discovered 
that  they  were  nearing  some  land,  and  their  peril  was  increased  by 
the  danger  of  being  wrecked  on  some  unknown  and  rocky  coast.  In 
this  plight  the  best  thing  to  be  done  was  to  cast  out  anchors,  which 
was  done  from  the  stern  of  the  ship,  that  she  might  be  in  better 
position  to  make  for  the  shore  if  a  favorable  opportunity  for  landing 
might  appear.  So  far  the  chapter  leads  us.  We  are  now  at  the 
point  in  the  story  where  our  study  begins.  Before  entering  upon  it, 
it  may  be  well  to  say  that  this  story  of  sea-voyage,  storm,  and  ship- 
wreck recorded  by  Luke  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  minute, 
searching,  and  scientific  examination,  and  it  has  been  demonstrated 
beyond  controversy  that  it  must  have  been  written  by  an  eye-wit- 
ness, and  that  every  detail  of  it  is  absolutely  correct  according  to 
what  must  have  happened  under  the  assumed  circumstances,  so  that 
it  is  no  fancy  sketch.  The  storm,  the  direction  of  the  wind,  the 
course  of  the  ship,  the  currents  and  tides,  the  handling  of  the  ship, 
the  final  TNTeck,  and  the  very  landing-place  of  the  crew  and  passen- 
gers on  the  northeast  coast  of  the  island  of  Malta  have  all  been  iden- 
tified. It  would  be  the  strangest  thing  in  the  world  that  the  rest  of 
the  story  contained  in  the  Acts  should  be  false  or  merely  a  fanciful 
composition.  Even  Kenan  acknowledges  the  genuineness  and 
authenticity  of  this  book  of  the  New  Testament.     If  this  book  con- 


296  PAUL   SHIPWRECKED. 

tains  a  true  history  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  the  truthfulness  of  the 
other  books  of  the  New  Testament. 

Many  ingenious  and  helpful  studies  have  been  offered  upon  this 
part  of  the  story  of  St.  Paul.  This  particualr  voyage  has  been  con- 
trasted with  that  of  Jonah.  In  the  ease  of  the  Jewish  prophet,  he 
fled  from  the  Lord  and  from  Nineveh,  where  he  had  been  sent  to 
preach,  while  Paul  is  traveling  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  God 
and  in  his  company  to  the  great  heathen  capital  of  the  world,  there 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  Jonah  brought  storm  and  threatened  destruc- 
tion upon  the  crew  and  ship  in  which  he  sailed;  whereas  Paul 
brought  comfort  to  their  hearts,  strength  to  their  bodies,  and  by  his 
faith,  coolness,  cheerfulness,  and  sagacity  saved  them  from  disaster 
and  death.  Jonah  was  finally  rescued  from  the  jaws  of  death  by  a 
miracle ;  but  Paul  brought  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  souls  safe 
to  the  land  from  the  mouth  and  maw  of  the  devouring  sea. 

I.— THE  PANIC  AND  TREACHERY  OF  UNBELIEF. 

Our  study  begins  with  the  thirtieth  verse.  Fourteen  days  before 
this  point  in  the  voyage  Paul  had  been  assured  that  for  his  sake  God 
would  save  the  entire  ship's  company.  He  had  communicated  this 
bit  of  good  news  to  the  centurion,  the  master  of  the  ship,  and  the 
crew  and  passengers.  They  heard  it  possibly  with  a  little  interest 
but  no  faith,  just  as  the  world  listens  to  the  Gospel  to-day.  They 
possibly  thought  with  Festus  that  Paul  was  a  mad  enthusiast,  and 
that  the  account  which  he  gave  of  the  visit  of  God's  angel  was 
nothing  more  than  the  crazy  imagination  of  a  diseased  brain ;  and 
yet  Paul  had  shown  himself  a  very  sane  man  during  this  voyage,  and 
his  previous  counsel  had  been  better  than  that  of  the  professional 
mariners.  They  had  come  to  anchor  at  midnight,  and  were  waiting 
for  the  day.  At  the  first  approach  of  the  day  the  sailors,  under  pre- 
tense of  casting  out  more  anchors,  sought  to  steal  away  in  the  ship's 
only  boat  and  save  themselves  at  the  expense  of  leaving  all  the  pas- 
sengers to  their  fate. 

1.  Unbelieving  fear.— Though  they  had  been  assured  of  safety 
by  the  word  of  God,  they  were  unbelievers.  They  put  not  the  least 
reliance  in  the  word  which  Paul  had  spoken  to  them  from  God.  Is  it 
not  so  with  the  world  to-day?  God's  word  of  "  good  cheer  "  is  spoken 
to  all  on  this  poor  old  wreck  of  earth,  assuring  them  of  his  love 
and  care,  and  also  his  purpose  of  grace  and  power  to  save  ;  but  they 
take  no  heed  of  it,  and  when  the  hour  of  danger  appears,  those 
who  are  stout-hearted  enough  to  reject  the  counsel  of  God  are  too 


THE   CALMNESS   AND   COURAGE   OF   FAITH.  297 

cowardly  to  face  the  dafiger,  and  so,  falling  into  panic,  attempt  a 
salvation  of  their  own. 

2.  The  treachery  and  falsehood  of  unbelief. — These  sailors 
were  they  to  whom  the  safe-conduct  of  the  ship  and  passengers  was 
intrusted.  Perhaps  the  master  and  pilot  of  the  ship  were  in  this  plot. 
They  did  not  hesitate  to  betray  their  trust,  and  under  false  pretense, 
and  by  means  of  treacherous  lying,  sought  to  carry  out  their  das- 
tardly purpose  and  flee  from  the  ship,  leaving  it  at  the  mercy  of 
wind  and  wave  and  the  inexperience  of  landsmen.  So  will  the  un- 
belief of  this  world  always  betray  us  in  the  hour  of  danger.  If  we 
put  our  trust  in  science  or  in  the  worldly  philosophy  of  the  day, 
these  will  all  desert  us  cruelly  and  treacherously  in  the  hour  of 
danger.  Who  ever  heard  of  unbelievers  and  infidels  visiting  the 
dying  bed  of  friends  to  comfort  and  help  them  in  that  dreadful  hour? 
Who  ever  heard  of  infidels  gathering  about  their  victims  when  afllic- 
tion  and  misfortune  beat  down  upon  them  1  "  Confidence  in  an  un- 
faithful (infidel)  man  in  time  of  trouble  is  like  a  broken  tooth,  and  a 
foot  out  of  joint."  So  says  Solomon.  And  Jesus  has  told  us  that 
when  the  wolf  appeareth  the  false  shepherd  will  flee  and  leave  the 
flock  to  destruction.  It  was  so  now  with  these  panic-stricken,  lying, 
and  treacherous  sailors. 

3.  The  selfishness  of  unbelief. — There  could  hardly  be  con- 
ceived a  more  selfish  or  utterly  heartless  act  than  that  which  these 
sailors  were  about  to  enact.  Had  they  leaped  overboard  saying  that 
they  preferred  to  take  their  chance  in  the  sea  rather  than  to  abide 
on  the  ship,  there  would  have  been  something  courageous  and  even 
noble  in  it ;  but  to  attempt  to  steal  away  the  boat  which  they  con- 
ceived to  be  the  only  possible  means  of  safety,  and  appropriate  it  to 
themselves,  deliberately  leaving  their  companions  to  go  down  in  the 
wreck  to  which  they  were  not  brave  enough  to  stick,  was  the  very 
quintessence  of  selfishness.  The  fact  is  that  unbelief  is  the  root  of 
all  fear,  all  meanness,  all  unmanliness,  and  all  inhumanity.  Shun 
it,  and  shun  those  as  your  friends  who  practice  it.  Neither  choose 
for  business  partners  or  social  companions  those  who  lightly  esteem 
or  altogether  reject  the  word  of  God.  "  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked 
together  with  unbelievers." 

II.— THE  CALMNESS  AND   COURAGE  OF  FAITH. 

In  strong  contrast  with  the  action  of  the  cowardly  sailors  is  the 
conduct  of  Paul,  who  now  for  the  third  time  seems  to  be  the  only 
master  of  the  situation.     It  is  a  great  thing  for  a  man  when  he  has 


298  PAUL   SHIPWRECKED. 

Christ  in  liis  life,  as  it  was  for  this  ship's  company  to  have  this 
man  of  faith  on  board  with  them.  Paul,  perceiving  the  real  pur- 
pose of  the  cowardly  and  dastardly  sailors,  at  once  spoke  to  the 
centurion  and  the  soldiers,  exposing  their  plot.  How  he  knew  it 
is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  by  his  large  experience,  which 
taught  him  that  the  alleged  purpose  of  the  sailors  was  false,  and 
enabled  him  to  see  into  their  treacherous  design.  How  calm  and 
cool  he  was !  He  did  not  make  a  great  ado  about  it.  He  did  not 
remonstrate  with  the  sailors.  He  did  not  go  to  the  pilot  and  the 
owner,  who  were  probably  in  the  plot,,  but  to  the  centurion,  who, 
ignorant  of  the  ways  of  ships  and  sailors,  had  been  deceived  by 
their  declaration  of  purpose  to  put  out  more  anchors,  and  to  him  he 
exposed  the  plot. 

1.  "Except  these  abide  in  the  ship." — Thus  he  said  to  the 
centurion,  "Ye  cannot  be  saved."  He  appealed  not  for  his  own 
safety  but  to  their  own  danger.  Unselfish  thus  is  the  true  Christian 
whose  faith  is  stayed  on  Christ.  The  statement  is  not  in  contradic- 
tion with  the  positive  affirmation  made  by  Paul  previously  that  the 
whole  ship's  company  should  be  saved.  God's  promises  always  in- 
clude the  means,  both  divine  and  human,  for  their  accomplishment. 
(Ezek.  xxxvi,  36,  37  ;  Luke  iv,  9,  12.)  There  is  nothing  superhuman 
implied.  It  was  perfectly  clear  to  Paul  that  when  the  time  came  to 
take  up  the  anchor  and  make  for  the  land  they  would  be  utterly 
helpless  without  the  help  and  knowledge  of  the  seamen.  If  they 
should  desert  the  ship  the  landsmen  would  be  helpless.  God  meant 
to  save  the  whole  company,  but  he  meant  to  do  it  by  human  means. 
If,  therefore,  the  very  means  by  which  God  intended  to  work  were 
deliberately  withdrawn,  his  purpose  could  not  be  fulfilled.  God  fre- 
quently uses  even  bad  men  to  carry  out  his  purposes  of  grace,  and 
he  restrains  and  constrains  their  actions  to  that  end. 

2.  Cutting  away  the  boat. — By  this  time  the  centurion  and 
even  the  soldiers  had  learned  to  respect  Paul's  judgment  and  were 
willing  to  be  guided  by  his  judgment,  especially  when  Paul  put  be- 
fore them  the  case  as  it  was.  So  without  a  word,  and  before  the 
sailors  could  lower  the  boat,  they  drew  their  swords  and  cut  the 
running  gear  from  the  davits  and  let  the  boat  down  into  the  sea 
empty  and  adrift.  Thus,  some  one  has  said,  they  abandoned  the 
only  means  of  escape  from  the  sinking  ship  and  intrusted  themselves 
to  the  better  life-boat  of  Paul's  word,  which  was  God's  word.  Men 
are  not  far  from  salvation  when  they  abandon  utterly  mere  human 
resources  and  schemes,  such  as  good  works  and  mere  religious  for- 
malism, and  trust  utterly  to  God's  word.     God  said  they  should  be 


THE   CALMNESS  AND   COURAGE   OF   FAITH.         299 

saved.    Tliey  would  trust  him  at  any  rate  this  once,  especially  rather 
than  submit  to  the  treason  of  the  present  unbelieving  sailors. 

3.  Taking  meat. — Now  that  the  danger  of  being  left  without 
a  skilled  working  force  was  overpast,  Paul  turns  his  attention  to  a 
very  practical  matter.  He  was  now  the  real  commander  of  the  shij3. 
The  whole  crew  and  all  the  landsmen  seemed  to  recognize  in  this 
prisoner  a  man  who  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  who  had  a  secret 
of  confidence  which  they  did  not  possess.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
unbelievers  in  dire  distress  to  turn  to  Christians  for  help,  at  whom 
they  have  scoffed  before.  Paul  does  not  waste  time  in  scolding  or 
denouncing  the  traitors,  for  before  them  was  the  practical  business 
of  preparing  for  the  last  struggle  with  the  sea  which  he  foresaw. 
For  fourteen  days  the  entire  crew  and  passengers,  through  fear  and 
anxiety,  confusion  and  labor,  had  scarcely  partaken  of  food.  They 
had  had,  in  fact,  no  regular  meals,  and  had  lived  from  hand  to  mouth. 
Now  Paul  reminds  them  of  their  weakened  condition,  and  entreats 
them  to  take  food.  Physical  strength  was  of  more  importance  to 
them  than  anything  else.  It  was  better  to  eat  than  to  pray  then. 
He  assures  them  that  there  shall  not  a  hair  of  their  heads  perish, 
reiterating  the  promise  of  God  previously  given  to  them.  His 
faith  was  for  the  moment  infectious,  and  they  all  fell  to  and  ate 
heartily. 

4.  Giving  thanks. — Paul  set  them  the  example.  The  food  hav- 
ing been  prepared,  he  first  gave  thanks  before  them  all.  He  would 
have  them  understand  that  they  were  in  God's  hands,  and  since  he, 
Paul,  had  taken  command  of  the  ship,  he  would  order  it  according 
to  God's  law.  Food  is  God's  gift  to  us  and  not  to  be  taken  without 
thanksgiving.  He  was  not  ashamed  of  his  faith,  but  "  gave  thanks 
to  God  in  presence  of  them  all."  How  many  of  us  fail  in  these  two 
points.  We  assume  that  food  and  other  necessary  things  are  of  our 
own  procuring,  and  even  if  we  are  secretly  thankful  we  are  either 
afraid  or  ashamed  to  confess  God  before  men.  Real  faith  has  the 
courage  of  its  hope  and  is  not  ashamed  of  God  anywhere. 

5.  Good  cheer.— Previously  (v.  22)  Paul  had  bade  them  be  of 
"good  cheer,"  but  they  had  not  heeded  him.  But  now,  after  four- 
teen days,  they  were  coming  around  to  his  views  of  things,  and  were 
in  a  measure  partakers  of  his  faith.  They  were  all  of  good  cheer, 
after  a  hearty  meal  taken  with  thanksgiving,  and  as  it  were  from  the 
hand  of  a  host  who  was  full  of  strong  confidence.  Oftentimes  our 
depression  and  fears  arise  from  hunger  or  a  disordered  bodily  con- 
dition, and  our  faith  and  courage  are  always  stimulated  by  the  pres- 
ence of  a  hopeful  leader.     Let  us  take  care  of  our  bodies,  giving 


300  PAUL   SHIPWRECKED. 

thanks  to  God  for  all  liis  goodness,  ''looking  to  Jesus"  our  great 
Commander,  and  we  shall  be  of  good  cheer. 

III.— THE  LAST   OF   THE   SHIP. 

As  soon  as  the  day  had  fairly  dawned,  with  renewed  courage  they 
prepared  themselves  for  the  last  effort.  There  were  nearly  three 
hundred  souls  on  board.  The  human  cargo  was  very  precious.  The 
importance  of  frustrating  the  wicked  designs  of  the  sailors  was  now 
apparent.  The  ship  must  be  gotten  ready  to  make  her  last  effort  to 
reach  the  shore :  the  anchors  cut  adrift,  the  rudder  bands  loosed, 
and  the  small  foresail  set  to  carry  the  ship  before  the  wind  toward 
the  shore  now  looming  up  in  the  west. 

1.  Lightening  the  ship. — The  cargo  consisted  of  wheat,  being 
carried  from  Alexandria  to  Italy.  It  was  valuable,  but  it  was  im- 
portant that  the  ship  should  be  of  as  light  draught  as  possible  when 
she  came  into  the  shallow  water.  It  was  wealth,  but  what  is  wealth 
compared  to  human  life?  ''What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  "  The  universal  answer 
is,  "Nothing."  "Millions  of  money  for  an  inch  of  time"  is  said  to 
have  been  the  cry  of  Elizabeth  of  England  when  lying  on  her  death- 
bed. So  the  cargo  of  wheat  went  overboard  without  delay  or  hesi- 
tation. Many  a  soul  has  been  wrecked  in  sight  of  land  because  he 
would  not  unload  his  cargo  of  wealth.  The  young  ruler  was  in  sight 
of  land,  but  he  was  very  rich,  and  when  he  heard  the  Master's  word, 
"  Sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor,  .  .  .  and  come  and 
follow  me,"  he  was  sorrowful  and  decided  to  take  his  chances  and 
save  his  cargo.  They  both  went  down  together.  Save  the  wheat  if 
you  can,  but  if  it  stands  between  you  and  life,  out  with  it  into  the 
sea !  So  of  every  other  thing  that  hinders  you  on  your  way  to  the 
haven  of  safety. 

2.  Land  ahead. — The  sight  of  the  land  was  a  sign  of  hope  to 
these  tempest-tossed  people.  So  is  the  hope  set  before  us  in  the 
Gospel.  Out  of  darkness  and  storm  God's  salvation  looms  large  and 
full  of  hope  for  all  men.  It  is  within  reach,  too.  The  land  was 
strange  to  them.  They  had  never  sailed  that  way  before  ;  but  when 
the  day  was  fully  awake  they  discovered  a  certain  creek  or  narrow 
channel,  which  divided  the  main  land  of  the  island  from  a  smaller 
island.  It  seemed  to  them  that  they  might  make  the  shore  in  safety 
there.  So  they  were  minded  to  drive  the  ship  to  that  point.  It  is 
even  so  with  salvation.  The  port  toward  which  we  are  directed  is  a 
new  and  strange  one,  not  familiar  to  sinners ;  but  there  is  a  glimmer- 


THE  LAST   OF   THE    SHIP.  301 

ing  of  hope  in  the  narrow  harbor  which  is  discerned.  We  do  not 
know  all  the  truth  or  see  the  whole  of  God's  purpose;  but  there 
are  one  or  two  promises  which  suggest  an  opening  into  the  land 
into  which  a  soul  may  escape  for  his  life,  out  and  away  from  the 
angry  sea. 

3.  God.  help  us. — ''And  when  they  had  taken  up  the  anchors,  they 
committed  themselves  unto  the  sea,  and  loosed  the  rudder  bands." 
There  was  nothing  for  it  now  but  to  trust  God.  They  could  do  noth- 
ing more.  No  skill  or  seamanship  could  save  them.  God  must  help 
or  they  must  perish.  So  it  is  with  the  sinner :  cut  away  the  old 
anchors  that  hold  you  to  the  place  of  human  safety,  loose  your  rud- 
der band,  hoist  the  little  sail  of  faith,  and  commit  yourself  to  the 
sea  with  your  prow  toward  God's  promise.  Driving  into  the  little 
creek,  the  forepart  of  the  ship  stuck  fast  in  the  sand  and  mud ;  the 
sea  caught  the  hinder  part  of  the  ship  and  broke  it  away.  So  the 
old  life  goes  to  pieces  on  the  shore  of  God's  promise.  All  our  past 
help  fails  utterly.  There  is  nothing  left  now  but  the  next  step,  and 
that  is  to  fling  one's  self  clear  of  the  old  sinking  wreck  and  plunge 
into  the  sea  and  swim  for  the  shore  or  float  toward  it,  on  whatever 
there  may  be  at  hand  to  help.  This  strikes  me  as  being  suggestive 
of  the  utter  abandonment  of  the  sinner  in  a  deep  and  confessed  con- 
viction of  sin  and  helplessness. 

4.  Evil  counsel  frustrated. — The  Eoman  soldiers,  obeying  the 
instinct  of  discipline,  counseled  to  kill  the  prisoners,  lest  escaping 
to  shore  they  might  escape  from  their  custody,  which  would  disgrace 
them  and  jeopardize  their  own  lives.  But  the  centurion  first  desir- 
ing, like  a  true  soldier,  to  bring  Paul  and  the  rest  to  Eome,  where 
he  had  been  charged  to  deliver  them,  and  besides  willing  or  wishing 
to  save  Paul  (whom  he  must  have  learned  to  respect  and  even  in  a 
sense  to  fear),  and  not  forgetting  that  he  had  saved  all  their  lives, 
dissuaded  the  soldiers  or  forbade  them,  and  so  saved  Paul  and  the 
rest  of  the  prisoners.  There  is  a  time  and  there  are  occasions  when 
a  wise  administrator  may  relax  discipline  and  even  disobey  a  lower 
law  in  order  to  carry  out  a  higher.  The  higher  law  is  not  under- 
stood by  many,  but  when  it  is  clearly  perceived  it  must  be  obeyed. 
The  centurion  disobeyed  the  Roman  law  in  sparing  Paul's  life  under 
the  circumstances,  but  he  obeyed  the  higher  law  of  God,  of  which  he 
only  perceived  the  faint  outlines  in  his  own  conscience  and  sense  of 
right  and  gratitude. 

5.  Safe  at  land. — So  they  flung  themselves  into  the  sea  and  all 
got  safely  to  shore,  some  swimming  and  some  on  the  wreckage  of 
the  ship.     God's  promise  had  been  fulfilled  to  the  letter,  and  they 


302  PAUL   SHIPWEECKED. 

were  all  saved.  May  we  not  see  in  this  a  prophecy  of  the  salvation 
of  all  men  who  will  take  God  at  his  word,  commit  themselves  to  the 
direction  of  his  Spirit,  abandon  the  old  rotten,  broken,  and  water- 
logged ship  of  human  nature,  and  cast  themselves  out  toward  his 
land  of  promise?  "And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  they  escaped  all 
safe  to  the  land." 


XXXVII. 

PAUL  AT   ROME.— Acts   xxviii,  20-31. 

(20)  For  this  cause  therefore  have  I  called  for  you,  to  see  you,  and  to 
speak  with  you :  because  that  for  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this 
chain.  (21)  And  they  said  unto  him.  We  neither  received  letters  out  of 
Judea  concerning  thee,  neither  any  of  the  brethren  that  came  shewed  or 
spake  any  harm  of  thee.  (22)  But  we  de?ire  to  hear  of  thee  what  thou 
thinkest :  for  as  concerning  this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken 
against.  (23)  And  when  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  there  came  many 
to  him  into  his  lodging;  to  whom  he  expounded  and  testified  the  kingdom 
of  God,  persuading  them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  out  of  the  prophets,  from  morning  till  evening.  (24)  And  some  believed 
the  things  which  were  spoken,  and  some  believed  not.  (25)  And  when  they 
agreed  not  among  themselves,  they  departed,  after  that  Paul  had  spoken 
one  word,  Well  spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias  the  prophet  unto  our  fa- 
thers, (26)  Saying,  Go  unto  this  people,  and  say,  Hearing  ye  shall  hear, 
and  shall  not  understand ;  and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  not  perceive :  (27) 
For  the  lieart  of  this  people  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hear- 
ing, and  their  eyes  have  they  closed ;  lest  they  should  see  with  their  eyes, 
and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand  with  their  heart,  and  should  be 
converted,  and  I  should  heal  them.  (28)  Be  it  known  therefore  unto  you, 
that  the  salvation  of  God  is  sent  unto  the  Gentiles,  and  that  they  will  hear 
it.  (29)  And  when  he  had  said  these  words,  the  Jews  departed,  and  had 
great  reasoning  among  themselves.  (30)  And  Paul  dwelt  tAvo  whole  years 
in  his  own  hired  house,  and  received  all  that  came  in  unto  him,  (31)  Preach- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God,  and  teaching  those  things  which  concern  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  with  all  confidence,  no  man  forbidding  him.— Acts  xxviii, 
20-31. 

This  chapter  down  to  the  fifteenth  verse  details  to  ns  the  further 
experiences  of  Paul  after  his  shipwreck,  on  his  way  to  Rome,  which 
he  reached  after  about  four  months.  The  sixteenth  verse  shows  us 
how  he  entered  the  great  city,  the  capital  of  the  world,  a  prisoner, 
bound  to  a  soldier  to  prevent  his  escape.  "What  cared  the  proud 
emperor  of  the  world  that  this  insignificant  Jew  had  come  to  his 
capital?  At  the  most,  he  was  only  another  of  those  Jews  whom  he 
and  his  predecessors  so  hated.  As  for  being  a  Christian,  he  was 
probably  as  indifferent  to  that  fact  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  putting 
contempt  and  scorn  on  that  mean  little  sect  which  had  sprung  up 
among  the  Jews  and  had  gathered  a  few  converts  from  the  slaves 
and  lowest  class  of  Romans.  And  yet  there  was  entering  into  Rome 
at  that  moment,  in  the  custody  of  the  centurion,  a  greater  conqueror 

303 


304  PAUL  AT   KOME. 

than  any  of  the  Csesars  had  been  ;  one  whose  life  and  words,  inspired 
"by  the  spirit  of  his  divine  Master,  were  destined  to  overturn  not  only 
the  ancient  classical  religions  of  the  Roman  Empire,  but  the  very 
throne  and  empire  itself. 

Paul  had  won  the  courtesy  of  the  centurion,  and  perhaps  more 
than  his  courtesy,  by  his  wisdom,  his  faith,  and  the  evident  presence 
within  him  of  some  power  new  and  strange  to  him.  Therefore  when 
he  delivered  him  over  to  the  captain  some  exceptional  privileges 
were  accorded  to  Paul  which  were  not  to  the  other  prisoners,  and  he 
was  permitted  to  dwell  alone  with  only  one  soldier  chained  to  him 
as  his  companion,  (v.  16.)  After  a  few  days  of  rest  Paul  sent  for 
the  leading  Jews  of  Rome  (not  Christian  Jews)  to  explain  to  them 
the  reason  for  his  being  in  Rome  at  all.  He  explained  to  them  that 
he  was  guiltless  of  any  offense,  either  against  his  nation  or  the  relig- 
ious customs  of  the  people  ;  that  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome  for  no 
offense,  for  in  fact  he  had  been  three  times  tried  and  yet  nothing 
found  against  him;  that  he  would  have  been  set  at  liberty,  but 
the  Jews  had  so  persistently  objected,  and  sought  his  life,  that  he 
was  compelled  to  appeal  to  Caesar  in  self-defense ;  that  therefore 
he  had  come  to  Rome  with  no  intention  of  laying  any  charge  against 
his  nation  or  his  kindred  according  to  the  flesh. 

I.— PAUL'S   FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH   THE   JEWS. 

Having  first  vindicated  himself  from  any  suspicion  that  he  was 
either  a  man  personally  guilty  of  offense  against  his  nation  or  the 
religious  customs  of  the  Jews,  he  expresses  a  strong  desire  to  see  and 
speak  with  the  leaders  of  his  people  in  Rome.  This  was  so  far  grati- 
fied that  upon  sending  for  them  they  had  come  to  him,  and  now  he 
wishes  to  open  up  the  whole  matter  in  controversy  between  the  Jews 
and  the  Christian. 

1.  Paul's  love  for  the  Jews.— The  action  of  Paul  in  first  send- 
ing for  the  Jewish  leaders  before  having  met  with  the  Christian  breth- 
ren seems  a  little  strange.  After  all  he  had  suffered  at  their  hands 
one  would  have  supposed  that  they  were  the  last  people  he  would 
care  to  see.  Ordinary  men  would  have  confined  their  intercourse 
to  converted  Jews  and  the  new  Gentile  brethren  who  had  been  intro- 
duced into  the  church  at  Rome.  But  Paul  was  not  an  ordinary  per- 
son. In  his  great  love  for  his  nation,  in  his  yearning  desire  to  see 
them  converted  to  Christ,  not  for  the  sake  of  any  partisan  success, 
but  for  their  own  spiritual  welfare  and  the  glory  of  God,  he  forgot 
the  personal  wrongs  received  at   their  hands,  not  once   only,  but 


PAUL'S  FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH   THE  JEWS.       305 

through  almost  thirty  years,  and  sought  hy  disarming  their  preju- 
dices the  better  to  enable  himself  to  speak  earnestly  to  them  con- 
cerning ''the  hope  of  Israel."  In  this  we  see  how  great  was  his 
love,  how  unselfish  his  purpose,  how  persistent  the  determination  of 
his  will,  if  it  were  possible  to  win  his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh. 
To  Paul  the  thought  of  Israel  losing  and  being  cut  off  from  the  hope 
with  which  God  had  inspired  them  through  all  the  long  prophetic 
ages,  was  almost  intolerable.  We  have  seen  how  cheerfully  and 
gladly  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles ;  but  that  Israel  should 
be  cut  off  by  their  own  unbelief  was  a  heart-breaking  thought  to  him. 
In  all  history  there  is  not  the  record  of  so  unselfish  a  man  and  a  min- 
istry as  is  seen  in  this  man  Paul. 

2.  The  hope  of  Israel. — The  chain  with  which  they  saw  him 
bound  would  ordinarily  be  a  badge  of  disgrace,  the  prima  facie  evi- 
dence that  he  was  a  malefactor  of  some  kind.  But  Paul  was  not 
ashamed  of  his  chain.  To  him  it  was  a  badge  of  honor.  He  wore 
it  as  a  proud  ornament.  It  was  for  the  hope  of  Israel  that  he  was 
bound ;  than  which  there  w^as  not  a  nobler  or  a  more  glorious  and 
worthier  cause.  In  this  expression  ''the  hope  of  Israel,"  and  Paul's 
use  and  identification  of  himself  with  it,  by  which  he  appealed  to 
the  Jews  then  listening  to  him,  we  have  the  immistakable  declara- 
tion of  the  Apostle  that  the  true  faith  and  hope  of  the  Jew  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Christian.  This  was  a  constant  claim  of  Paul, 
(xxiii,  6;  xxiv,  14,  15,  21;  xxvi,  6,  22,  23.)  'This  hope  is  compre- 
hended in  the  two  great  facts  of  Christianity,  (i)  The  appearance 
in  the  world  of  the  Messiah — "  God  manifested  in  the  flesh."  This 
is  that  for  which  Israel  had  been  hoping  all  through  the  ages.  To 
this  hope  the  prophets  from  the  beginning  had  given  witness :  that 
there  should  come  into  the  world  One  who  would  in  fact  be  their  own 
Jehovah,  and  that  through  him  all  the  promises  of  God  would  be  ful- 
filled. To  set  these  hopes  before  our  readers  would  be  to  quote  from 
every  book  in  the  Old  Testament  and  to  expound  as  well  as  call 
attention  to  the  significance  of  all  the  Jewish  ceremonial,  (ii)  The 
second  point  in  the  hope  of  Israel  was  the  glorious  life  of  immortal- 
ity which  was  finally  brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ.  On  these  two  points,  "Jesus  and  the  resur- 
rection," hung  all  the  apostolic  teaching;  as  these  two  points  were 
those  toward  which  all  the  Scriptures  converged.  Therefore  he 
urged  that  the  hope  of  Israel  and  the  Christian  faith  were  one  and 
the  same.  Israel  had  hoped  for  this  coming  and  revelation ;  the 
Christian  believed  that  the  coming  and  revelation  were  fulfilled  in 
the  person  and  resurrection  of  Christ.     This  is  more  fully  brought 


306  PAUL  AT   ROME. 

out  in  the  great  sermon  contained  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  this 
book.  I  have  had  occasion  in  this  strange  and  wonderful  land  to 
point  out  to  the  Hindoos  from  their  own  scriptures  how  all  the  high- 
est aspirations  of  their  fathers  pointed  to  Christ,  and  had  their  most 
perfect  fulfillment  in  him.  No  doubt  if  we  could  get  at  the  basic 
truth  of  all  the  religions  of  the  earth  we  would  find  in  them  a 
prophecy  and  hope  of  Christ,  and  in  Christ  we  would  find  a  fulfill- 
ment of  these  prophecies  and  hopes.  I  believe  this  is  the  true  line 
upon  which  to  press  the  Gospel  among  all  alienate  faiths,  and  more 
esiDCcially  so  among  the  Hindoos. 

3.  The  reply  of  the  Jews. — There  is  certainly  a  marked  con- 
trast between  the  attitude  of  the  Roman  Jews  and  those  of  Jerusa- 
lem. Their  residence  in  Rome,  while  it  had  not  changed  their  faith, 
had  done  something  to  make  them  more  tolerant  and  less  fanatical. 
They  assured  Paul  that  they  had  received  no  word  concerning  him 
either  by  letter  from  Judea  or  by  w^ord  of  mouth  from  any  one  com- 
ing from  Palestine.  No  evil  report  of  him  had  reached  them,  there- 
fore his  justification  of  himself  was  unnecessary.  Yet  what  he  had 
told  them  of  his  devotion  to  their  common  nation  and  his  sincere 
attachment  to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  especially  his  identifica- 
tion of  "the  hope  of  Israel"  and  the  faith  of  the  Christian,  had 
awakened  in  them  a  curiosity  to  hear  what  he  had  further  to  say  on 
the  subject.  The  answer  was  frank  enough  in  words,  but  there  is 
iio  doubt  but  that  there  was  a  certain  cold  reserve  and  contempt- 
uous spirit  in  the  whole  bearing  of  the  Jews.  This  is  especially 
brought  out  in  their  concluding  remark. 

4.  The  sect  everywhere  spoken  against. — Paul  had  evi- 
dently declared  himself  a  Christian  in  the  course  of  his  brief  intro- 
ductory statement.  The  Jews,  referring  to  the  Christians,  said: 
"  For  as  concerning  this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken 
against."  There  was  that  about  Paul  which  compelled  their  respect, 
but  as  for  the  sect  to  which  he  belonged,  they  spoke  of  it  as  a  small 
body  of  people  who  had  succeeded  in  awakening  against  itself  uni- 
versal contempt  and  hatred.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  sect  or 
teaching  themselves,  but  had  accepted  a  popular  verdict  against  it. 
They  were  not  ignorant  of  its  existence,  but  were  and  had  been  too 
prejudiced  to  make  any  personal  inquiry  concerning  it  or  to  investi* 
gate  its  teachings  or  the  ground  of  its  faith.  This  is  the  common 
attitude  of  a  multitude  of  people  toward  Christianity  to-day.  They 
ispeak  not  of  the  sect,  but  of  the  sects,  and  declare  that  the  common 
fame  of  them  is  evil.  They  have  heard  evil  things  of  certain  minis- 
ters and  missionaries,  of  certain  persons  connected  with  the  Christian 


PAUL'S   SECOND   INTERVIEW  WITH   THE    JEWS.     307 

Church ;  and  readily  and  easily  crediting  all  evil  speech,  they  justify 
themselves  in  an  aggressive  ignorance,  which,  clothed  in  contempt- 
uous speech,  seeks  to  hide  its  face  from  honesty  and  truth.  Chris- 
tianity is  in  no  sense  a  sect — not  a  mere  fragment  broken  off  from 
the  truthful  whole.  It  is  the  beautiful  fruit  which  has  proceeded 
out  of  the  flower  of  all  the  promises  of  God  that  have  bloomed  on 
the  tree  of  prophecy  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  It  is  the  cul- 
mination of  all  the  hopes  of  all  peoples  of  the  earth,  and  more  espe- 
cially of  the  Jews. 

II.— PAUL'S  SECOND  INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  JEWS. 

Having  expressed  their  desire  to  hear  what  Paul  had  to  say,  they 
appointed  a  day  on  which  they  would  return  to  his  lodgings  and  enter 
into  the  question  with  him.  When  the  day  came  the  leaders  who 
were  present  at  the  first  interview  returned,  bringing  with  them  a 
large  company  of  other  Jews.  The  conference  was  held  in  Paul's 
lodging,  because  he  was  still  a  prisoner  and  not  free  to  go  and  come 
as  he  pleased,  though  permitted,  it  seems,  to  receive  all  persons  who 
wished  to  visit  him. 

1.  The  kingdom  of  God.— This  was  the  theme  of  Paul's  dis- 
course. It  was  his  only  theme,  either  with  Jew  or  Gentile,  for  Jesus 
and  his  resurrection  is  the  central  feature  of  this  great  kingdom- 
He  proceeded  in  his  usual  way.  (i)  He  appealed  to  the  Scriptures. 
"Persuading  them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses 
and  out  of  the  prophets."  (xxviii,  23.)  Paul  was  no  vain  specula- 
tor. He  believed  in  God  and  in  the  revelation  which  God  had  made 
of  himself,  and  his  purposes  toward  man.  These  were  to  him  the 
source  of  all  authority  for  the  preacher.  He  did  not  seek  in  the 
depths  of  his  personal  consciousness  for  the  truth,  but  simply  ap- 
pealed to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony.  For  passages  ot  Scripture 
referred  to,  the  following  were  no  doubt  some  of  them :  Gen.  xl,  10 ; 
Num.  xxiv,  17;  Deut.  xviii,  15,  18;  Ps.  ii,  6,  12;  xvi,  9-11;  xxii,  xl, 
Ixxii,  ex ;  Is.  vii,  14 ;  ix.  6 ;  xi,  1-10 ;  xl,  1-11 ;  xlii,  1-7 ;  xlix,  1-9 ; 
1,  2-6 ;  lii,  13-15  and  liii*;  Ixi,  1-3 ;  Jer.  xxiii,  5,  6 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv,  23 ; 
Dan.  vii,  13,  14 ;  ix,  24-26 ;  Micah  v,  2 ;  Haggai  ii,  7 ;  Zech.  vi,  12, 
33;  ix,  9;  xi,  12;  xii,  10;  Mai.  iii,  1 ;  iv,  2 ;  Luke  xxiv,  27ff;  John 
i,  45;  V,  39;  Rev.  xix,  10.  These,  with  many  other  Scriptures, 
would  have  afforded  Paul  ample  material  for  his  all-day  conference 
with  the  Jews  on  the  subject  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  discussing 
this  subject  with  them,  I  am  sure  he  must  have  set  before  them  the 
great  fact  that  the  essence  of  the  kingdom  was  spiritual  and  not 


308  PAUL  AT   ROME. 

temporal ;  that  "  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  "but 
righteousness,  and  iDeaee,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost";  that  it  was 
not  a  great  political  hierarchy  to  be  ushered  in  with  pomp  of  earthly 
greatness,  but  that  it  "  cometh  not  with  observation  "  ;  that  it  was  a 
kingdom  in  which  the  king  sat  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of  his  people 
and  reigned  over  them  through  righteousness  wrought  out  by  means 
of  law  and  grace  written  in  and  filling  their  hearts ;  that  whatever 
the  future  glory  of  Israel  might  be  under  the  personal  reign  of  Christ, 
that  reign  could  never  take  jjlace  before  Christ  had  first  set  them 
free  from  sin  ;  political  and  personal  freedom  could  avail  them  noth- 
ing so  long  as  they  were  bound  with  sin  and  enslaved  by  Satan's 
chain ;  that  the  true  badge  of  this  kingdom  was  not  an  outward 
sign  in  the  flesh  but  an  inward  circumcision  of  the  heart;  that 
men,  even  Jews,  entered  it  not  by  natural  but  by  spiritual  birth. 
After  this  fashion  must  Paul  have  reasoned  with  them.  The  whole  of 
the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  to  the  Galatians  are  but  the  substance 
of  this  long  discourse  which  Paul  had  with  the  Jews  that  day  in 
Rome.  Jesus  was  the  key  to  all  the  Scriptures,  and  the  beginning, 
middle,  and  end  of  all  the  argument.  He  ''persuaded  them  concern- 
ing Jesus."  He  must  have  shown  them  how  Jesus  met  every  require- 
ment of  prophecy,  how  he  fulfilled  every  type  and  shadow  of  the 
ceremonial,  how  he  was  that  ''Prophet"  of  whom  Moses  spoke,  that 
Priest  of  whom  Aaron  was  the  type,  that  King  of  whom  David  and 
Solomon  were  the  great  prototypes.  He  must  have  clearly  demon- 
strated the  fact  that  the  wounded  and  bruised  sufferer  of  Isaiah  (liii) 
was  and  could  be  none  other  than  Jesus.  It  must  have  been  a  won- 
drous discourse,  and  one  cannot  but  regret  that  Luke  did  not  report 
it  in  full.  His  method  was  his  old  one.  (i)  He  expounded.  That 
is,  he  opened  the  Scriptures  and  showed  them  what  the  kingdom  of 
God  must  in  the  nature  of  the  case  mean.  He  read  it  and  gave  the 
sense.  Like  a  true  exegete  as  he  was,  he  laid  his  foundation  in  ex- 
jDosition.  (ii)  He  testified.  That  is,  he  pointed  out  all  the  facts 
concerning  Jesus  which  bore  upon  the  Scriptures.  He  told  of  his 
birth,  his  miracles,  his  teaching,  his  death,  and  the  manner  of  it,  and 
of  his  resurrection.  All  this  he  testified  to, -and  then  he  showed  how 
these  various  events  in  the  life  of  Christ  perfectly  fitted  into  the 
prophetic  declarations  concerning  the  Messiah,  (iii)  Finally  he 
persuaded.  That  is,  he  sought  by  tender  and  well-directed  appeal 
to  their  intelligence,  their  hearts,  and  their  consciences,  to  draw 
these  Jews  into  acceptance  and  confession  of  Christ.  He  did  not 
argue  and  expound  and  testify  for  the  sake  of  the  argument.  His 
whole  desire  was  to  win  the  Jews  to  Christ ;  to  the  hope  of  Israel ; 


PAUL'S   LAST   WORD.  309 

to  their  own  salvation ;  and  to  the  glory  of  God.  In  all  this  we  find 
that  Paul  was  not  afraid  or  ashamed  to  repeat  his  addresses  or  his 
methods.  No  man  repeated  discourses  more  than  Paul  did.  He 
never  repeated  himself,  for  he  never  preached  himself.  He  repeated 
the  Scriptures  and  the  truth  of  God,  and  that  we  cannot  do  too  often. 

2.  The  effect  of  Paul's  address. — It  was  of  old,  as  it  ever 
will  be.  "  Some  believed  the  things  which  were  spoken,  and  some 
believed  not."  Even  Paul  could  not  win  all  his  hearers.  We  need 
not  be  discouraged  if  we  do  no  better  than  he.  It  is  the  result  of 
men's  attitude  toward  the  truth  that  Jesus  goes  through  the  world 
like  a  plow,  turning  men  into  double  furrows,  some  of  them  believ- 
ing and  some  believing  not ;  thus  does  Christ  part  men  as  a  plow 
parts  the  soil. 

3.  Disagreement  among  themselves. — The  effect  of  Paul's 
discourse  was  not  alone  that  it  di\dded  the  company  into  believers 
and  unbelievers,  but  it  divided  the  unbelievers  into  groups  of  an- 
tagonistic opinion.  They — that  is,  those  who  believed  not — agreed 
not  among  themselves.  Unbelievers  seldom  do  agree  among  them- 
selves. Unbelieving  scientists  and  philosophers  are  in  more  hope- 
less disagreement  with  each  other  than  they  are  even  with  Christ  and 
Christianity. 

III.— PAUL'S   LAST  WORD. 

As  the  company  were  breaking  up  after  the  long  day's  discussion, 
Paul  discerned  the  determined  attitude  of  unbelief  among  the  most 
of  them.  He  saw  that  so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  convince  them  of 
the  truth  they  ivere  convinced  ;  but  they  were  determined  not  to  sub- 
mit to  the  truth.  Paul  addressed  a  final  word  to  them, — a  word  of 
warning,  and  yet  a  word  of  love,  hoping  that  at  last  this  word  might 
arouse  them. 

1.  The  hardening  of  the  heart. — He  saw  what  they  were  do- 
ing, and  it  grieved  and  distressed  him.  So  he  quoted  a  passage  from 
Isaiah  which  fairly  described  their  present  attitude  of  mind  :  "  Well 
spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias."  In  this  Paul  fully  recognizes  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  prophet  Isaiah.  He  at  least  had  not  learned 
what  so  many  of  our  learned  ( ?)  critics  pretend  to  have  discovered, 
that  the  book  of  Isaiah  is  simply  Jewish  literature,  and  not  the  inspired 
word  of  God.  This  word  of  Isaiah  (vs.  26,  27)  clearly  declared  that 
the  Jews  would,  through  their  persistent  attitude  of  unbelief,  bring 
their  hearts  into  a  state  of  hardness  which  would  be  fatal  to  their 
acceptance  of  the  Messiah  when  he  should  come.  They  shall  hear 
the  truth,  but  they  will  not  hear  it  spiritually ;  seeing  the  truth  they 


310  PAUL   AT   ROME. 

will  not  perceive  its  importance.  By  persistently  hardening  their 
hearts  and  stopping  their  ears  and  closing  their  eyes  they  shall  have 
lost  the  power  of  believing.  They  do  not  want  to  be  converted, 
therefore  they  have  shut  up  every  avenue  to  the  soul.  It  is  not  that 
God  has  done  this  to  them.  They  have  done  it  themselves,  and  have 
suffered  as  a  punishment  the  very  thing  which  they  have  desired  and 
which  has  now  come  upon  them, — spiritual  incapacity,  blindness  of 
eye,  deafness  of  ear,  and  grossness  of  heart.  There  are  men  of  to- 
day, who,  thougli  not  Jews,  are  bringing  upon  themselves  exactly 
this  condition.  There  are  men  who  have  already  brought  spiritual 
hardness  upon  themselves.  The  exhortation  of  the  Scripture,  "To- 
day if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart,"  is  an  exhorta- 
tion of  most  tremendous  moment.  God  wants  to  convert  and  heal 
every  soul  in  this  vast  world  of  ours,  but  if  men  will  not  see  the 
truth,  will  not  hear  it,  and  will  not  receive  it  into  good  and  honest 
hearts,  God  himself  cannot  convert  and  save  them. 

2.  The  Gospel  preached  to  the  Gentiles. — This  was  Paul's 
last  appeal  to  the  Jews.  He  did  not  turn  to  the  Gentiles  out  of 
pique.  It  was  the  purpose  of  God  that  the  Jews  themselves  first 
converted  to  Christ  should  be  the  great  evangelizers  of  the  world, 
and  inherit  the  riches  (spiritually)  of  the  Gentiles ;  but  since  they 
had  rejected  the  Gospel  themselves,  God  by  his  Apostle  turned  now 
to  the  Gentiles  and  gave  over  to  them  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and 
from  them,  rather  than  from  the  Jews,  he  gathers  his  Church,  and 
upon  them  he  bestows  all  the  wealth  of  his  love.  "They,"  the 
Apostle  informs  the  Jews,  "will  hear  it."  The  Apostle  tells  this 
secret  of  God's  purpose  to  the  Jews  not  to  anger  them,  but,  if  pos- 
sible, to  stir  them  up  by  a  kind  of  spiritual  jealousy  to  accept  the 
Gospel  themselves.  (Rom.  xi,  11;  xv,  8,  16.)  The  Apostle  had 
already  explained  this  to  both  Jew  and  Gentile  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  written  years  before. 

3.  Great  reasoning. — After  thus  listening  to  Paul's  one  "last 
word,"  the  Jews,  that  is,  the  unbelieving  among  the  number,  who 
had  been  present  at  the  conference  went  out  and  "  had  gi'eat  reason- 
ing among  themselves."  This  was  all  very  well,  if  it  had  led  them 
to  any  right  decision  ;  but  reasoning  which  does  not  bring  a  man  to 
faith  is  pretty  sure  to  land  him  in  deeper  darkness.  When  men  hold 
the  truth  in  unrighteousness,  and  become  vain  in  their  own  imagina- 
tions, their  foolish  hearts  became  darkened  (Rom.  i,  21)  and  they 
get  farther  from  God  than  ever.  Nobody  ever  hears  the  Word  of 
God  without  being  to  some  extent  altered  or  affected  by  it.  They 
either  find  themselves  drawn  nearer  to  God  by  yielding  to  its  per- 


PAUL   CONTINUES    HIS    MINISTRY.  311 

suasion,  or  repelled  farther  from  God  by  resisting  its  testimony.' 
The  Gospel  is  therefore  that  savor  of  life  or  death  to  men  which  this 
same  Apostle  declares  it  to  be.     (II.  Cor.  ii,  16.) 

IV.— PAUL   CONTIXUES   HIS   MINISTRY. 

The  last  two  verses  of  om'  chajDter  give  us  the  conclusion  of  this 
record  by  Luke.  For  two  years  after  this  ministry,  Paul,  though 
still  a  prisoner,  seems  to  have  been  but  a  nominal  one,  something  as 
John  Bunyan  was  for  a  time  in  Bedford  jail.  His  ministry  was  the 
same  as  ever.  Dwelling  in  his  own  hired  house,  his  congregation 
came  to  him,  and  he  preached  the  kingdom  of  God,  "  teaching  those 
things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  confidence,  no 
man  forbidding  him." 

Thus  closes  the  record  of  the  life  and  work  of  the  most  remark- 
able man  in  all  Christian  times — a  man  whose  loyalty  to  Christ, 
whose  zeal  for  his  service,  whose  love  for  men,  whose  great-hearted 
unselfishness,  and  whose  age-long  influence  have  never  been  equaled 
or  excelled  by  any  living  man.  He  stands  next  in  greatness  to  his 
own  great  Master,  though  not  on  the  same  plane.  Jesus  Christ  was 
both  Lord  and  Christ ;  Paul  was  his  servant  and  disciple,  and  gloried 
in  nothing  so  much  as  being  both  disciple  and  servant,  coimting  not 
his  life  dear  to  himself  if  he  might  finish  his  ministry  with  faithful- 
ness and  joy. 


XXXVI I  r. 

PERSONAL    RESPONSIBILITY.— Romans  xiv,    12-23, 

(12)  So  then  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God.  (13) 
Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more :  but  judge  this  rather, 
that  no  man  put  a  stumblingblock  or  an  occasion  to  fall  in  his  brother's 
way.  (14)  I  know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  there  is  noth- 
ing unclean  of  itself :  but  to  him  that  esteemeth  any  thing  to  be  unclean,  to 
him  it  is  unclean.  (15)  But  if  thy  brother  be  grieved  with  thy  meat,  now 
walkest  thou  not  charitably.  Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat,  for  whom 
Christ  died.  (16)  Let  not  then  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of:  (17)  For  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink ;  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  (18)  For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ  is  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  and  approved  of  men.  (19)  Let  us  therefore  follow  after  the 
things  which  make  for  peace,  and  things  wherewith  one  may  edify  another. 
(30)  For  meat  destroy  not  the  work  of  God.  All  things  indeed  are  pure ;  but 
it  is  evil  for  that  man  who  eateth  with  offence.  (21)  It  is  good  neither  to 
eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any  thing  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth, 
or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak.  (22)  Hast  thou  faith?  have  it  to  thyself 
before  God.  Happy  is  he  that  condemneth  not  himself  in  that  thing  which 
he  alloweth.  (23)  And  he  that  doubteth  is  damned  if  he  eat,  because  he 
eateth  not  of  faith:  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin.— Romans  xiv, 
13-33. 

This  is  confessedly  a  very  difiicAilt  chapter  to  interpret  with  ex- 
actness. There  is  an  easy  and  general  impression  of  its  meaning 
lying  on  the  surface,  so  that  every  one  may  read  as  he  runs,  and  run 
as  he  reads.  It  is  this  :  that  tliose  who  are  strong  ought  to  be  pa- 
tient with  those  who  are  weak,  and  be  careful,  in  the  exercise  of 
their  lawful  liberty  in  things  allowable,  not  to  offend,  or  cause  a 
brother  w^ho  is  not  equally  strong  to  trip  and  fall ;  that  it  is  better 
to  use  liberty  for  self-denial  than  for  gratification  at  the  expense  of 
others. 

The  difficulty  which  first  presents  itself  is  to  determine  what  was 
the  occasion  of  this  application  by  the  Apostle  Paul  of  the  law  of 
charity.  There  seems  to  have  been  two  parties  (not  divisions)  in 
the  church  at  Rome.  Perhaps  we  had  better  say  two  classes  of  be- 
lievers there.  The  one  class  was  a  strong  and  vigorous  majority, 
who  were  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  lib- 
erty in  Christ,  and  who  regarded  the  whole  life  as  under  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  did  not  recognize  the  narrow  distinction  of  holy  and 
unholy  as  applied  to  the  mere  creatures  of  God,  whether  in  respect 

312 


PERSONAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  313 

of  meats  and  drinks  or  of  days  and  seasons.  To  them  all  things 
which  were  in  themselves  calculated  to  give  pleasure  to  the  appetite 
and  not  harmful  to  the  body  were  lawful,  either  in  the  way  of  eating 
or  drinking.  All  days  were  alike  to  them  holy  days,  because  God 
had  in  their  redemption  sanctified  all  time  as  well  as  all  things. 
Motive  and  relation  to  God  were  the  principles  which  guided  them, 
rather  than  ceremonial  distinctions.  The  other  class  was  a  smaller 
one  in  number  and  weaker  in  faith  and  the  apprehension  of  the  wide 
extent  of  that  ''liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free."  The 
stronger  party  felt  at  perfect  liberty  to  eat  meat  and  drink  wine, 
while  the  weaker  party  were  sensitive  in  their  consciences  as  to  both 
eating  meat  and  drinking  wine,  and  confined  themselves  to  a  strictly 
vegetable  diet.  The  stronger  party  was  imdoubtedly  made  up  chiefly 
of  Gentile  converts,  and  possibly  a  few  Jewish  converts  whose  long 
residence  in  Rome  had  liberalized  them  by  coming  in  contact  with  a 
larger  culture,  of  those  who,  like  Paul,  were  enabled  to  grasp  firmly 
and  promptly  the  great  truths  of  redemption  in  relation  to  all  things 
both  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  The  other  party  were  most  likely  Jew- 
ish believers  who  were  more  or  less  bound  by  ceremonial  traditions ; 
though  it  must  be  observed  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  law  of  Moses 
that  forbade  a  Jew  to  eat  meat  or  to  drink  wine,  excejDt  in  the  case  of 
a  priest  while  on  active  duty,  or  a  Nazarite  while  his  vow  was  upon 
him.  It  is  more  likely  that  there  was  a  party  of  vegetarians  in  the 
church,  who  on  embracing  Christianity  felt  that  they  ought  to  live 
as  simply  as  possible,  and  mark  by  that  living  a  distinction  between 
themselves  and  the  world ;  just  on  the  same  principle  that  led  the 
Quakers  to  adopt  and  wear  a  simple  style  of  dress  as  a  protest  against 
the  excesses  of  dress  current  in  their  day  even  among  the  professors 
of  religion. 

It  should  be  observed,  also,  that  the  place  of  eating  and  drink- 
ing was  also  a  factor  in  the  discussion.  This  teaching  of  Paul  had 
not  so  much  to  do  with  the  private  or  domestic  habits  of  the  strong 
Christians  to  whom  he  gave  this  admonition,  as  to  certain  practices 
indulged  in  at  the  celebration  of  the  then  common  and  popular  love- 
feasts  of  the  church.  (I.  Cor.  xi,  20-22;  Jude  12.)  It  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  early  Church  to  meet  together  daily,  and  in  the  place  of 
assembly  to  take  the  common  or  principal  meal.  Everybody  brought 
their  own  provisions  as  far  as  they  were  able.  The  rich  brought 
their  abundance  and  the  poor  their  scanty  and  frugal  portions.  At 
first  the  table  was  common,  and  all  partook  of  the  common  supply. 
After  a  while  these  love-feasts  became  less  informal  and  were  made 
the  occasion  of  the  coming  together  of  little  social  cliques.     The  rich 


314  PEESONAL  KESPONSIBILITY. 

would  bring  their  food,  and  without  waiting  for  the  poor  and  offering 
to  make  a  common  meal,  proceed  to  eat  and  drink  by  themselves. 
Great  abuses  of  this  kind  sprang  up  in  the  church  at  Corinth,  so 
great,  indeed,  that  it  was  not  uncommon  for  men  to  go  away  from 
the  feast  drunken  and  surfeited  with  wine  and  food.  To  such  Paul 
administered  the  stinging  rebuke  contained  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  his  first  epistle  to  that  church.  Now  at  Rome,  while  there  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  such  excesses,  yet  when  the  church  were  as- 
sembled for  their  love-feast  it  was  manifest  that  those  who  brought 
meat  and  wine  with  them  were  giving  offense  to  the  smaller  party, 
who  felt  that  to  eat  meat  and  drink  wine  at  the  love-feast  was  wrong. 
Paul  calls  them  weak  brethren,  yet  he  recognizes  the  sacredness  of 
their  consciences  and  convictions  in  this  matter,  and  urges  upon  the 
strong  brethren  the  duty  of  bearing  with  them.  I  think  it  most 
important  to  keep  this  fact  in  mind,  that  the  injunction  of  charity 
here  refers  to  those  places  of  public  assembly  where  both  classes 
met  under  semi-religious  circumstances,  or,  if  you  please,  wholly  re- 
ligious circumstances,  and  did  not  refer  to  the  actions  of  the  stronger 
brethren  in  their  more  private  and  personal  relations  and  habits. 
The  weaker  brethren  might  protest  against  a  certain  practice  in  con- 
nection with  an  act  of  worship  in  the  Church  of  God,  when  he  would 
not  have  been  allowed  to  carry  his  censorship  to  a  man's  private  house.. 
The  controversy  between  these  classes  was  a  sore  one.  The 
weaker  brethren  were  censorious,  inclined  not  only  to  blame  but 
to  pass  judgment  upon  the  brethren  who  exercised  their  liberty 
in  eating  and  drinking.  On  the  other  hand,  the  stronger  brethren 
were  haughty  and  contemptuous  in  their  treatment  of  their  less  free 
brethren.  It  was  to  correct  both  these  evils  that  the  Apostle  wrote. 
After  all,  spirit  here  is  worth  more  than  the  letter  of  action.  A 
strong  brother  might  abstain  from  exercising  his  liberty  out  of  defer- 
ence to  a  weak  brother  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  more  offense  than  if 
he  had  gone  his  own  way  in  spite  of  protest.  He  might  have  flung 
his  meat  on  the  floor  and  dashed  his  wine-cup  to  the  ground,  and 
then  uttered  some  sneering  remark  upon  the  narrowness  and  bigotry 
of  his  weak  brother,  which  would  have  wounded  him  more  deeply 
and  been  more  apt  to  cause  him  to  fall  than  if  he  had  refused  courte- 
ously to  yield  his  liberty  to  the  demands  of  his  brother's  prejudice. 
Paul  urges  upon  both  parties  that  there  is  essentially  no  harm  in  the 
matter  of  eating  and  drinking.  One  man  eateth  meat  and  drinketh 
wine.  There  is  no  harm  or  wrong  in  so  doing.  Another  confines 
himself  to  vegetable  diet.  Well,  if  he  chooses  to  adopt  this  manner 
of  living  he  has  the  right  to  do  so.     The  vegetarian  must  not  censure 


A  GENERAL   PEOPOSITION.  315 

liis  more  liberal  brother  because  he  does  not  see  that  God  requires 
him  to  become  a  vegetarian.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  free  liver 
must  not  despise  the  brother  and  hold  him  in  contempt  because  he 
does  not  see  his  way  clear  to  so  large  a  liberty.  Yet  in  the  present 
controversy,  while  recognizing  the  abstract  rightness  of  the  stronger 
party,  Paul  takes,  as  it  were,  the  weaker  party  under  his  protection, 
and  pleads  that  the  stronger  party  yield  their  liberty  in  favor  of  their 
charity.  He  does  not  demand  the  giving  up  of  meat  and  wine  be- 
cause they  were  evil  things,  nor  does  he  demand  it  at  all.  He  only 
points  out  that  to  do  so  under  the  circumstances  would  be  Christlike, 
and  more  becoming  the  strong  than  for  the  strong  to  insist  upon  the 
weak  coming  up  to  his  standard  by  an  arbitrary  forcing  of  his  con- 
science. In  this  controversy  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  strong  have 
rights  which  the  weak  ought  to  recognize,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  weak  party  to  tone  up  their  consciences  and  move  into  a  stronger 
position.  In  the  controversy  to-day  between  the  aggressive  total 
abstainer  and  the  Christian  man  who  exercises  his  liberty  in  drinking 
wine,  the  attitudes  of  the  parties  are  changed,  for  the  modern  total 
abstainer  is  a  very  robust  character,  and  he  is  the  one  who  takes  the 
whip  handle  in  the  controversy,  and  he  is  the  party  of  the  majority 
in  the  Church  just  now.  I  venture  to  suggest  whether  the  present 
strong  party  might  not  be  a  little  more  charitable  in  their  judgment, 
and  less  censorious  and  arrogant  in  their  demands.  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  exercise  charity  on  both  sides  of  a  "doubtful  question."  If 
the  vegetarians  and  total  abstainers  of  Paul's  day  had  been  in  the 
strong  majority  and  were  running  roughshod  over  their  mere  ^tem- 
perance and  temperate  brethren,"  denouncing  them  as  "wine-bibbers 
and  gluttons,"  then  I  fancy  Paul  would  have  taken  the  meat-eating 
and  wine-drinking  Christians  under  his  protection.  I  believe  he 
would  do  so  to-day,  not  that  he  would  encourage  drunkenness  nor 
that  he  might  not  advocate  total  abstinence  in  the  present  circum- 
stances, but  that  he  would  forbid  an  uncharitable  attitude  toward 
those  who  saw  their  way  and  liberty  clear  in  the  matter  of  eating 
and  drinking.  There  is  a  doctrine  of  charity  which  can  be  pressed 
into  the  practice  of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  and  we  should  be  as 
careful  about  not  doing  that  as  we  are  to  walk  charitably  in  the  sur- 
render of  our  rights  to  the  weakness  of  the  weak  brethren. 

I.— A  GENERAL  PROPOSITION. 

Having  opened  the  question  and  stated  both  sides  of  it,  the 
Apostle  proceeds  to  lay  down  a  general  truth  in  respect  of  judgment. 


316  PERSONAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

In  the  twelfth  verse  he  reminds  the  Romans  of  the  fact  that  "  everj^ 
one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God."  This  is  the  con- 
clusion from  the  eleventh  verse,  and  was  intended  to  pave  the  way 
for  the  earnest  advice  contained  in  the  thirteenth  verse. 

1.  Against  judging  one  another. — ''Let  us  not  therefore 
judge  one  another  any  more."  Judge  not  thy  brother,  for  God  will 
judge  Jiim — such  is  the  teaching  in  the  tenth  verse ;  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  twelfth  verse  we  are  reminded  that  it  would  be  well  to 
judge  ourselves,  since  God  will  also  judge  tis.  The  obvious  course 
for  us  to  pursue  is  to  abstain  from  judging  one  another,  for  that  is 
God's  business  and  not  ours.  We  had  much  better  be  preparing 
ourselves  for  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  than  be  usurping  his  func- 
tions against  our  brother.  "But,''  adds  the  Apostle,  "if  you  cannot 
abstain  from  judgment,  let  it  fall  upon  yourself,  and  lead  you  to  this 
decision  rather,  that  no  man  jDut  a  stumbling-block  or  an  occasion  of 
offense  in  his  brother's  way."  Here  the  Apostle  takes  the  side  of 
the  weak  brother  because  he  is  weal;  and  counsels  the  strong  brother 
because  he  is  strong  to  be  careful  not  to  do  anything  that  will  either 
wound  the  feelings  or  conscience  of  his  weak  brother  or  cause  him 
to  do  a  scandalous  thing,  that  is,  from  his  own  point  of  view.  To 
twit  the  vegetarian  with  narrowness  and  prejudice  because  he  cannot 
or  will  not  eat  meat  or  drink  wine  is  to  wound  his  feelings,  for  he  is 
conscientious  in  his  abstinence  ;  to  tempt  him  to  do  what  is  wrong 
in  his  own  eyes  is  to  scandalize  his  conscience  and  so  cause  him  to 
fall.  It  was  not  the  mere  question  of  example,  but  of  bitter  speech 
and  taunts  hurled  at  the  weak  brother,  and  the  deliberate  attempts 
made  to  get  him  to  abandon  his  position  of  abstinence  against  his 
conscience. 

2.  Nothing  unclean  in  itself. — Paul  for  the  moment  shifts 
his  position,  and  makes  haste  to  assure  the  brother  upon  whose  char- 
ity he  is  about  to  make  a  large  draft  that  there  is  nothing  unclean  in 
itself  in  the  way  of  either  meat  or  drink.  This  he  says  he  knows  out 
of  his  common  judgment  as  one  acquainted  with  Jewish  ceremonial ; 
but  he  is  also  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  that  by  reason  of 
his  knowledge  of  the  mind  of  Christ.  Whatever  wrong  there  may 
be  in  eating  meat  or  drinking  wine  is  to  be  located  in  the  fact  of  do- 
ing it  when  there  is  a  conviction,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly  reached, 
that  to  eat  or  drink  any  particular  thing  in  any  given  circumstances 
is  sinful.  It  is  the  violation  of  conscience  which  is  the  evil  thing  to 
be  avoided,  and  not  the  meat  or  drink,  which  cannot  be  evil  in  itself. 
Therefore  he  adds  :  "  To  him  that  esteemeth  anything  to  be  unclean 
to  him  it  is  unclean."    With  Paul  it  is  always  a  question  of  eon- 


A   GENERAL   PROPOSITION.  317 

science  rather  than  a  particular  act  or  thing.  Paul  honored  the 
conscience  above  all  things,  and  strove  always  to  preserve  his  void 
of  offense,  and  exercised  himself  in  this  matter,  therefore  he  was 
jealous  for  any  one  else  who  was  making  a  like  struggle  to  preserve 
purity  of  conscience. 

3.  A  plea  for  charity. — He  turns  now  to  the  strong  brother  and 
draws  a  draft  on  his  charity.  '^But  if  thy  brother  be  grieved  with 
thy  meat,  now  walkest  thou  not  charitably  "  (or  in  love).  You  may  be 
entirely  within  your  right,  and  doing  no  harm  either  to  your  con- 
science or  in  fact,  but  remember  your  weak  brother.  He  thinks  you 
are  doing  wrong,  and  it  pains  him  for  you  to  do  this  thing  in  defiance 
of  his  conscience,  especially  when  you  taunt  him  with  his  weakness. 
Such  a  course  on  your  part  may  destroy  your  brother,  for  whom 
Christ  died.  Or  you  may  lead  him  to  override  his  conscience  in  order 
to  escape  your  sneer  or  contempt,  and  thereby  destroy  him ;  for  no 
man  can  long  violate  his  conscience  without  destroying  his  soul. 
''Let  not  then  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of."  The  good  referred  to 
here  is  "Christian  liberty,"  not  meat  and  drink.  It  is  a  good  thing 
that  you  have  attained  unto  a  larger  liberty  in  Christ  than  the  weak 
brother,  but  it  would  be  a  pity  to  have  Christian  liberty  brought  into 
disrepute  by  pressing  personal  privileges  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
override  a  weak  brother.  You  may  have  the  right  of  way  in  the 
road,  but  if  a  weak  brother  has  gotten  himself  into  a  wrong  position, 
you  need  not  run  him  down  simply  because  you  have  the  right  to  the 
road  he  is  obstructing,  especially  if  he  is  obstructing  it  not  willfully 
but  in  ignorance  and  weakness.  One  need  not  always  assert^his 
rights.  So  a  Christian  may  exercise  his  liberty  sometimes  by  giving 
it  up.  I  am  free  to  eat  meat  and  drink  wine.  There  is  nothing 
wrong  in  either,  but  my  liberty  does  not  compel  me  to  do  so  under 
all  circumstances ;  and  so  I  am  free  not  to  eat  meat  or  drink  wine, 
if  I  choose  to  do  so  out  of  charity  to  a  weak  brother. 

4.  The  higher  principle. — The  Apostle  now  lays  down  another 
law  beside  that  of  Christian  liberty,  viz.  :  "  For  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  .  .  .  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  In 
this  case  he  applies  the  rule  to  social  and  fraternal  relations.  Right- 
eousness is  that  course  of  action  toward  our  brother  which  respects 
the  thing  which  he  thinks  is  his  due ;  in  this  case  respect  Jiis  convic- 
tions, even  though  they  do  not  coincide  with  yours.  It  is  true  the  weak 
brother  should  observe  the  same  rule  toward  the  strong  brother ;  but 
since  he  is  weaJc,  it  is  becoming  in  the  strong  brother  to  humor  him,  not 
contemptuously,  but  cordially  and  heartily.  So  of  peace — that  line 
of  conduct  which  makes  for  the  peace  of  all  parties  concerned.     We 


318  PERSONAL   EESPONSIBILITY. 

might  say  that  God's  rule  of  action  is  in  these  circumstances  a  holy 
compromise,  even  if  one  has  to  give  up  all  points  in  the  controversy 
except  conscience  in  order  to  preserve  peace  among  the  brethren. 
So  of  joy,  which  is  that  holy  and  happy  state  of  exaltation  of  mind 
which  is  present  when  all  hearts  are  flowing  together,  borne  on  the 
broad  bosom  of  God's  love.  "By  such  disposition  the  soul  finds  it- 
self raised  to  a  sphere  where  all  sacrifices  become  easy  and  charity 
reigns  without  obstacle."  This  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  not  the 
kingdom  of  God  doggedly  to  maintain  oui*  abstract  rights,  especially 
when  the  enjoyment  of  these  rights  is  not  necessary  to  our  loyalty  to 
God  or  our  own  salvation.  Moreover,  he  who  walks  by  this  rule  of 
charity  is  really  serving  Christ,  is  acceptable  to  God,  and  has  also 
the  approval  of  men,  and  that  is  better  than  the  mere  pleasure  one 
may  have  in  eating  meat  and  drinking  wine,  lawful  and  pleasing  as 
these  good  things  are  to  our  taste.  What  shall  we  do,  then,  in  these 
circumstances?  Why,  certainly,  there  is  but  one  answer:  "Let  us 
therefore  follow  after  the  things  which  make  for  peace,  and  things 
wherewith  one  may  edify  another." 

II.— THE  DUTY  TO   GOD  IN  THIS  MATTER. 

Passing  from  the  discussion  of  the  proposition  from  the  point  of 
view  of  duty  to  our  weak  brethren  and  to  the  Church  of  Christ  to 
that  of  our  duty  to  God  himself,  the  Apostle  proceeds  with  his 
exhortation. 

1.  Against  destroying  the  work  of  God. — "For  meat  de- 
stroy not  the  work  of  God."  The  work  of  God  is  the  salvation  of 
men,  even  the  weak  ones.  Let  us  not,  therefore,  for  the  sake  of  a 
personal  gratification  do  anything  which  may  tend  to  overthrow  the 
faith  or  destroy  the  conscience  of  our  brother,  even  though  we  be 
right  and  he  wrong  in  the  matter.  We  owe  this  to  God,  just  as  in 
verse  fifteen  the  Apostle  reminds  us  that  we  are  to  be  very  tender 
and  charitable  toward  one  for  whom  Christ  died.  K  Christ  loved 
him  enough  to  die  for  him,  we  ought  at  least  to  love  him  enough  for 
Christ's  sake  to  make  a  little  sacrifice  of  personal  liberty  in  the 
matter  of  eating  and  drinking. 

2.  Good  turned  into  evil. — "All  things,"  says  Paul  again, 
"indeed  are  pure,"  and  you  may  be  abstractly  right  in  using  your 
liberty ;  but  there  may  come  out  of  an  uncharitable  and  selfish  use 
of  an  abstract  right  in  connection  with  a  pure  thing  a  great  evil, 
namely  :  to  exercise  our  right  and  to  eat  and  drink  our  "  pure  "  things 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  offense  or  work  a  wrong  to  our  brother. 


THE   CONCLUSION   OF   THE   MATTER.  319 

"It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  anything 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak." 
These  three  offenses  are  mentioned.  To  make  our  brother  'Ho 
stumble,"  is  to  wound  his  feelings  by  conduct  which  he  sincerely 
disapproves;  ''to  offend"  is  to  cause  him  to  sin  by  being  led  to  do 
that  which  would  violate  his  conscience  ;  to  make  him  "  weak  "  is  to 
cause  him  to  disregard  scruples  with  which  he  is  afflicted  through 
want  of  a  larger  and  more  liberal  faith.  We  are  to  remember 
that  we  arc  our  brother's  keeper,  and  God  will  require  him  at  our 
hands.  It  is  a  question  entirely  of  charity,  in  which  we  are  tender 
of  our  brother's  weakness,  regardful  of  the  whole  welfare  of  the 
Church,  and  loyal  in  our  service  to  Christ  and  jealous  of  God's  work. 
What  are  our  passing  privileges  in  comparison  with  all  these  greater 
things  ? 

III.— THE   CONCLTJSION  OF  THE  MATTER. 

In  the  last  two  verses  the  Apostle  sums  up  the  conclusions  of  the 
whole  matter. 

1 .  In  respect  to  the  strong.—"  Hast  thou  faith  ?  have  it  to  thy- 
self before  God."  That  is,  if  you  are  in  the  apprehension  of  Chris- 
tian liberty,  free  to  eat  meat  or  drink  wine,  or  any  other  thing  of  a 
social  or  a  personal  nature,  then  exercise  it  before  God,  but  not 
under  circumstances  which  will  work  wrong  to  others  who  have  not 
your  faith.  Do  not  play  the  hypocrite  and  do  things  on  the  sly ;  but 
in  what  may  be  right  and  lawful  for  you  to  do  at  home,  where  you 
are  not  brought  into  contact  with  the  weak,  or  in  company  with  those 
who  have  like  faith,  please  yourself ;  but  be  careful  that  you  do  not 
condemn  yourself  in  the  things  which  you  allow  by  exercising  your 
liberty  where  it  may  cause  your  brother  to  stumble,  or  offend,  or  be- 
come even  more  weak  than  he  is,  by  raising  scruples  in  his  mind. 
If  Paul  would  protect  the  weak  from  the  liberty  of  the  strong,  in 
this  matter  he  certainly  protects  the  strong  from  the  unwarrantable 
espionage  of  the  weak,  who  would  follow  him  into  his  own  house, 
or  anywhere  else,  for  the  purpose  of  asserting  the  sovereignty  of  his 
weakness  over  him. 

2.  In  respect  of  the  weak.— If  the  weak  have  scruples  in 
respect  of  eating  meat  or  tbinking  wine,  or  anything  else,  let  him 
respect  these  scruples,  for  though  it  may  be  abstractly  allowable  for 
these  things  to  be  done,  it  is  not  allowable  for  them  to  be  done  in 
the  face  of  a  scruple  of  conscience.  TJic  conscience  must  de  respected. 
"He  that  doubteth  is  damned  if  he  eat,  because  he  eateth  not  of 


320  PERSONAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

faith :  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin."  This  passage  must  not 
be  made  to  apply  to  things  which  are  not  under  discussion,  as  though 
Paul  laid  it  down  as  a  general  principle  that  whatever  an  uncon- 
verted man  does  is  wrong  because  it  is  not  done  in  faith.  This  is  to 
pervert  Scripture.  It  is  not  wrong  for  an  unconverted  man  to  be 
moral,  kind,  just,  generous,  honest,  and  upright,  even  though  he 
does  these  things  in  unbelief  as  to  the  Lord  Christ.  Yet  we  have 
heard  Christian  teachers  say  that  these  things  were  sin  in  uncon- 
verted men.  God  knows,  the  unconverted  as  well  as  the  converted 
have  sins  enough  to  answer  for  without  turning  into  offenses  what 
remains  of  virtue  there  may  be  in  them.  The  w^hole  lesson  needs 
to  be  studied  with  the  greatest  care,  both  by  the  **  strong  "  and  by 
the  "weak." 


XXXIX. 
REVIEW   OR   OPTIONAL   LESSON. 


321 


XL. 

THE    POWER   OF  THE   GOSPEL— Romans  i,  8-17. 

(8)  First,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,  that  your 
faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world.  (9)  For  God  is  my  witness, 
whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing 
I  make  mention  of  you  always  in  my  prayers;  (10)  Making  request,  if  by 
any  means  now  at  length  I  might  have  a  prosperous  journey  by  the  will  of 
God  to  come  unto  you.  (11)  For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto 
you  some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established ;  (12)  That  is,  that 
I  may  be  comforted  together  with  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and 
me.  (13)  Now  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  that  oftentimes  I 
purposed  to  come  unto  you,  (but  was  let  hitherto,)  that  I  might  have  some 
fruit  among  you  also,  even  as  among  other  Gentiles.  (14)  I  am  debtor  both 
to  the  Greeks,  and  to  the  Barbarians;  both  to  the  wise,  and  to  the  unwise. 
(15)  So,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the  gospel  to  you  that  are 
at  Rome  also.  (16)  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ :  for  it  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to  the  Jew 
first,  and  also  to  the  Greek.  (IT)  For  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God  re- 
vealed from  faith  to  faith:  as  it  is  written.  The  just  shall  live  by  faith. — 
Romans  i,  8-17. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Eomans  was  written  about  the  year  a.d.  60,  or 
twenty-eight  years  after  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord.  It  was  written 
"by  Paul  from  Corinth.  He  had  of  course,  at  that  time,  never  visited 
Eome,  but,  as  he  tells  us  in  the  prefatory  section  of  the  epistle,  it 
had  been  for  a  long  time  his  most  earnest  desire  to  do  so.  His  letter 
or  epistle  was  intended  to  be  in  some  sort  a  substitute  for  his  pres- 
ence. The  epistle  is  a  masterpiece  of  didactic  theology,  setting  forth 
the  whole  scheme  of  God's  righteousness,  and  has  for  its  object  the 
showing  forth  of  God's  righteousness,  and  at  the  same  time  how 
through  grace  a  sinful  man  may  be  righteous  with  God.  Paul  intro- 
duces himself  in  the  usual  way :  as  "  &  servant  of  Jesus,  called  to  be  an 
apostle,"  separated  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  the  Gospel  of  God 
concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  declared  to  have  been  Son 
of  man  by  his  human  descent  through  David,  but  demonstrated  with 
power  to  have  been  the  Son  of  God  by  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  In  this  opening  paragraph  of  salutation,  he  then  declares  his 
office,  the  sphere  of  his  labor,  and  the  substance  of  his  message. 
Having  thus,  as  it  were,  written  this  little  private  letter  introducing 

322 


THANKSGIVING  AND   PEAYER.  323 

himself,  he  proceeds  to  state  his  reasons  for  writing,  and  his  hopes 
in  connection  with  a  yet  future  visit  to  them. 

I.— THANKSGIVING   AND  PHAYER. 

The  terms  in  which  he  expresses  himself  to  the  Eomans  demon- 
strates that  Paul's  interest  in  them  was  of  no  ordinary  kind.  This 
outpouring  of  his  heart  to  these  brethren  whom  he  had  never"  seen 
gives  us  a  glimpse  into  the  bigness  of  the  Apostle's  heart,  and  how 
his  conscience  and  apostolic  responsibility  took  in  the  whole  world. 
One  would  have  thought  that  the  Apostle  had  enough  on  his  hands 
to  occupy  all  his  prayers  for  the  Corinthians,  the  Ephesians,  the 
Thessalonians,  and  the  Philippians,  besides  his  strange  and  persist- 
ent care  and  anxiety  for  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  which  he  might 
readily  have  dismissed.  Yet  so  great  was  his  catholicity,  so  broad 
his  Christian  sympathies,  that  while  he  was  laboring  night  and  day 
for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem,  the  city  that  was  ready  to  tear  him 
to  pieces,  he  was  thanking  God,  and  praying  for  Eome,  the  capital 
of  the  Gentile  world,  in  which  he  was  yet  to  close  his  labors  and  lay 
down  his  life  for  Christ.  He  was  truly  the  world's  apostle,  and  it  is 
not  a  wonder  that  he  has  influenced  the  world  more  than  any  other 
man,  living^  or  dead,  has  ever  done,  for  next  to  his  Master  he  loved 
this  poor  lost  and  sinful  world  more  than  any  other  man  ever  did. 

1.  The  faith  of  the  Romans. — The  first  cause  of  his  thanks- 
giving, and  the  fii'st  thing  he  wished  to  mention  to  them,  was  the 
fact  of  his  thanksgiving  on  account  of  their  faith  ;  which  was  spoken 
of  throughout  the  whole  world.  It  is  not  known  by  whom  the  church 
at  Eome  was  gathered,  or  when  it  was  established.  But  it  became 
known  that  there  in  the  Imperial  City  there  was  a  company  of  Chris- 
tians, who  were  "a  sect  everywhere  spoken  against."  The  Jews 
resident  in  Eome  told  Paul  that  they  knew  nothing  of  them  except 
that.  Nevertheless,  their  faith  was  spread  abroad  over  the  whole 
world  where  there  were  Christians  to  hear  about  it  and  unbelievers 
to  scoff  about  it.  The  reason  for  the  widespread  fame  of  their  faith 
was  not  so  much  because  it  was  extraordinary  either  in  kind  or  de- 
gree, as  because  of  the  fact  that  there,  at  the  foot  of  the  throne  of 
the  Caesars,  in  the  capital  of  the  world,  a  Christian  church  had  been 
established  and  was  flourishing,  as  it  were,  challenging  the  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  heathen  world;  entering  the  lists  with  ancient 
classical  heathenism  and  the  proudest  schools  of  the  then  modern 
philosophies.  If  Paul  had  succeeded  in  establishing  a  church  in 
Athens  and  securing  the  Parthenon  on  Mars  Hill  as  the  place  of  its 


324  THE  POWER  OF   THE  GOSPEL. 

gathering,  it  would  not  have  been  so  significant  a  fact  as  that  in 
Eome  itself  the  standard  of  the  cross  had  been  erected.  It  was  the 
fact  that  at  Eome  "  the  faith "  was  held  and  declared,  which  had 
been  spoken  of  through  the  whole  world. 

2.  A  solemn  asseveration. — The  Apostle  is  about  to  make  a 
large  declaration  of  his  peculiar  and  profound  interest  in  the  Romans. 
He  prefaces  this  declaration  with  a  solemn  asseveration  :  "  For  God 
is  my  witness."  Of  course  no  man  could  be  the  witness  of  what  was 
in  his  heart,  but  God,  whom  he  served  with  his  spirit  in  the  Gospel 
of  his  Son,  knew  what  was  in  his  heart.  As  he  had  given  expression 
to  his  thanks  through  Jesus  Christ  by  whom  they  believed,  so  now 
he  gives  expression  to  the  depths  and  sincerity  of  his  prayers  for  the 
Romans  as  it  were  under  the  eye  of  God  himself.  We  have  here  at 
least  an  illustrious  example  of  that  kind  of  oath  which  appeals  to 
God  for  a  proof  of  the  truthfulness  of  a  statement  made.  It  is  a 
case  that  proves  that  the  word  of  Christ,  "  Swear  not  at  all,"  is  not 
to  be  taken  as  covering  literally  every  form  of  oath  or  asseveration 
in  the  name  of  God,  but  that  such  prohibition  is  only  laid  against 
the  light  and  irreverent  use  of  such  an  appeal.  The  Romans  may 
have  questioned  the  earnestness  of  his  desire  to  visit  and  see  them 
from  the  fact  that  so  many  years  had  elapsed  and  yet  no  visit  had 
been  made  to  them,  though  he  was  the  "apostle  of  the  Gentiles," 
and  Rome  was  not  only  the  chief  city  of  the  Gentiles  but  the  very 
capital  of  the  world.  He  explains  further  on  that  it  was  not  because 
of  the  want  of  purpose  or  effort  on  his  part.  "  I  would  not  have  you 
ignorant,  brethren,  that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come  unto  you  (but 
was  let  hitherto)."  He  does  not  say  how  he  was  hindered,  but  so 
it  was.  Nevertheless,  the  longing  desire  was  there,  and  he  would 
solemnly  assure  them  of  the  fact.  We  are  almost  led  to  suppose 
that  Paul  had  in  some  way  been  reproached  by  the  Romans  for  his 
neglect  or  failure  to  visit  them,  and  that  he  was  even  writing  this 
letter  to  vindicate  himself  from  that  charge,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  give  them  by  letter  that  help  and  teaching  which  he  would  fain 
have  given  them  personally.  We,  at  least,  may  be  glad  that  Paul 
was  hindered;  else  we  would  not  have  had  this  epistle,  and  the 
Church  and  the  world  could  ill  have  spared  this  treasury  of  truth  and 
divine  teaching. 

3.  The  Apostle's  longing  desire. — He  proceeds  to  set  before 
them  the  various  reasons  which  entered  into  his  desire  to  visit  Rome. 
He  declares  that  "  without  ceasing  "  he  had  made  mention  of  them 
in  his  prayers  all  this  time  in  which  he  had  been  unable  to  come 
unto  them,  and  since  he  had  heard  of  their  faith.    It  was  his  constant 


THANKSGIVING  AND   PRAYER.  325 

desire,  and  so  he  constantly  held  it  before  God,  as  a  request  that  by 
any  means  he  might  get  to  them.  He  little  knew  at  that  time  how 
severe  and  trying  the  means  would  be  by  which  he  was  finally  to 
enter  into  the  fruition  of  his  hopes.  Violence,  mobs,  trials  before 
kings  and  governors,  chains,  stripes,  imprisonments  covering  years, 
shipwreck,  perils  by  sea  and  land,  by  soldiers  and  civilians — all  these 
were  the  means  by  which  his  prayers  were  answered  and  he  at  last 
brought  to  Rome.  Now  he  states  some  of  the  reasons  why  he  wished 
to  come,  (i)  He  wanted  to  visit  the  capital  of  the  world,  that  is, 
Rome,  if  that  were  the  will  of  God.  He  felt  the  importance  of  exer- 
cising his  ministry  there,  (ii)  He  w^anted  to  see  them  as  a  company 
of  believers  who  were  occupying  a  key  position,  and  who  were  al- 
ready distinguished  for  their  faith  and  had  come  conspicuously  be- 
fore the  world,  (iii)  He  longed  to  impart  some  spiritual  gift  to 
them.  Not  chrismal  or  magical  gift,  but  by  preaching  the  Gospel 
to  be  the  means  of  increasing  their  spiritual  life,  for  he  was  sure 
that  when  he  came  he  would  "  come  in  the  fullness  of  the  blessing 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  (xv,  29.)  He  was  conscious  that  God  had 
endowed  him  with  gifts  and  committed  to  him  a  knowledge  of  the 
Gospel  which  perhaps  no  other  man  at  that  time  had.  He  desired 
to  minister  these  gifts  to  them  in  order  that  they  might  be  estab- 
lished in  their  faith  and  built  up  in  their  Christian  life  and  charac- 
ter, (iv)  To  get  good  for  himself.  The  Apostle  was  too  humble  a 
man  to  think  that  he  only  could  communicate  good  to  others ;  he 
knew  that  he  needed  help  himself,  and  quite  believed  that  a  visit  to 
the  church  at  Rome  would  not  only  be  the  means  of  good  to  them, 
but  to  himself  also.  Indeed,  this  was  in  his  thought,  and  he  hastens 
to  correct  his  first  expression  and  free  himself  from  the  suspicion  of 
pride  or  vain-glory  in  his  ministry  or  gifts.  "  That  is,  that  I  may  be 
comforted  together  with  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and  me." 
The  mutual  helpfulness  of  pastor  and  people  is  a  matter  too  often 
overlooked.  The  modern  Romish  pastor  scorns  the  idea  that  he 
could  be  benefited  by  the  faith  of  his  flock,  and  arrogates  to  himself 
that  he  only  can  impart  gifts  and  help  to  them ;  and  this  same  as- 
sumption is  made  by  some  who  are  not  formally  Romish  pastors  but 
are  longing  to  be  considered  on  a  par  with  them.  It  would  be  well 
for  them  to  take  a  lesson  in  humility  at  the  feet  of  this  greatest  of 
the  apostles,  whose  successors  they  boast  themselves  to  be.  (v)  He 
longed  also  to  have  some  fruit  among  the  Romans  even  as  among 
other  Gentiles.  In  this  desire  Paul  evidently  addresses  a  wider 
Roman  constituency  than  the  actual  church.  He  is  thinking  of  the 
great  idolatrous  and  unbelieving  city.     He  remembers  what  fruit 


326  THE   POWER   OF   THE   GOSPEL. 

God  had  given  him  in  Corinth,  in  Ephesus,  in  Philippi,  in  Thessa- 
lonica,  and  elsewhere,  and  he  longed  to  reap  and  gather  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  fruit  from  Rome  also.  This  not  out  of  mere  human 
ambition,  but  from  a  desire  to  see  the  souls  of  the  Romans  saved, 
and  the  glory  of  God  increased.  The  human  and  the  divine  are 
always  closely  allied  in  our  motives  and  desires.  It  could  not  be 
otherwise,  and  it  would  not  be  good  otherwise. 

II.— A   GREAT    DEBT. 

To  preach  the  Gospel  was  an  unspeakable  privilege  to  Paul.  In 
order  to  do  so  he  counted  not  his  life  dear  to  himself.  (Acts  xx,  24. ) 
To  preach  the  Gospel  was  a  solemn  necessity  laid  upon  him,  amount- 
ing to  a  woe  should  he  fail  to  do  it.  (I.  Cor.  ix,  16.)  But  here  he 
speaks  of  it  as  the  discharging  of  a  debt. 

1.  "I  am  debtor." — He,  like  all  the  rest  of  us,  owed  his  salva- 
tion to  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  of  course  brought  under  an  everlasting 
obligation  to  him  for  that.  (I.  Cor.  vi,  20.)  He  owed  himself  to 
Christ,  and  was  forever  his  debtor.  How  many  and  various  are  the 
relations  which  the  saved  sinner  sustains  to  Christ.  To  serve  Christ 
and  to  spread  his  Gospel  is  not  an  optional  service  or  obligation.  It 
is  imperative.  Not  to  do  so  is  deliberately  to  repudiate  the  highest 
debt  a  man  can  owe.  It  is,  in  fact,  to  have  been  put  in  trust  with 
the  Gospel  and  to  have  embezzled  it  for  one's  own  use  while  depriv- 
ing those  for  whom  it  was  intended. 

2.  To  whom  was  he  debtor  ? — Both  to  the  Greeks  and  the  Bar- 
barians, the  wise  and  the  unwise.  In  the  former  Paul  speaks  of 
nationalities,  in  the  latter  he  speaks  of  men  in  respect  of  their  cult- 
ure. His  debt  was  to  them.  That  is,  it  was  to  them  through  Christ. 
He  owed  his  all  to  Christ.  Christ  had  died  for  all  men  to  bring  them 
to  glory  and  so  to  save  them  from  sin.  The  only  way  in  which  we 
may  or  can  discharge  our  debt  to  Jesus  Christ  is  to  give  ourselves 
in  service  to  those  whom  he  has  bought  with  the  price  of  his  blood, 
and  to  whom  he  has  sent  the  Gospel  of  their  salvation. 

3.  His  readiness  to  pay  the  debt. — So  far  as  he  is  concerned, 
he  is  now,  as  he  has  ever  been,  ready  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all 
that  be  in  Rome,  even  as  he  had  been  ready  and  willing  to  discharge 
this  debt  to  other  Gentiles,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  and  at  the 
expense  of  great  suffering  and  trial.  Never  man,  before  or  since, 
was  so  unwearied  in  his  endeavors  to  discharge  his  debt  to  Christ. 
Not  because  he  wished  to  be  free  from  obligation  in  this  respect,  but 
because  it  was  the  only  way  he  had  of  expressing  his  boundless  love 


NOT   ASHAMED   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  327 

and  gratitude  to  him  who  loved  him  and  gave  himself  for  him,  to 
bring  him  to  God. 

III.— NOT  ASHAMED   OF  THE   GOSPEL. 

In  this  connection  he  declared  that  while  ready  to  preach  the 
Gospel  as  in  discharge  of  a  debt,  he  is  not  ashamed  or  humiliated  in 
the  doing  of  it.  He  calls  it  "the  Gospel  of  Christ."  In  the  opening 
sentence  of  his  letter  he  speaks  of  being  separated  ^^unto  the  Gospel 
of  God."  Paul  makes  no  difference  between  God  and  Christ  in  re- 
spect of  the  Gospel.  The  Gospel  is  in  fact  the  good  news  of  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Some  people  imagine  that  the  Gos- 
pel is  something  associated  rather  with  the  love  and  gracious  char- 
acter of  Christ  than  with  the  justice  and  righteousness  of  God.  But 
such  must  have  forgotten  that  it  was  God  who  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.  The  love  of  God  goes  before 
the  work  of  atonement  by  Christ.  Yes,  let  us  rejoice  that  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ  and  the  Gospel  of  God  are  one  and  the  same.  "He 
that  hath  seen  me,"  saith  Christ,  "hath  seen  the  Father."  "The 
word  which  ye  hear  is  not  mine,  but  the  Father's  which  sent  me." 

1.  Not  ashamed. — This  word  has  a  double  meaning,  and  I 
fancy  something  of  both  meanings  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Apostle, 
(i)  "I  am  not  ashamed,"  in  the  sense  of  thinking  myself  humiliated 
by  being  the  bearer  of  this  message.  I  am  not  asharrod  of  the  Gos- 
pel itself.  There  is  nothing  in  its  teaching,  either  from  a  moral, 
spiritual,  or  intellectual  point  of  view,  which, causes  me  to  blush 
even  in  the  presence  of  all  the  great  philosophers  of  Eome.  I  am 
ready,  with  uplifted  face  and  open  and  straight  eyes,  to  stand  forth 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  any  audience,  (a)  I  am  not  ashamed  of 
its  antiquity,  for  it  has  come  not  from  yesterday,  but  "  according  to 
the  Scriptures."  The  Gospel  has  come  according  to  an  age-long  and 
age-old  series  of  promises  from  God,  which  have  been  spoken  by  the 
prophets  from  the  days  of  Adam  till  now.  The  Gospel  is  no  neiv 
thing.  It  was  preached  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  thenceforward. 
Christ  indeed  but  recently  appeared  in  the  world,  but  he  was  a 
"lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  (I.  Pet.  i,  18,  19, 
20.)  (&)  Not  ashamed  of  its  Author.  In  contrasting  the  moral  char- 
acters of  God  and  Christ  with  all  the  fancied  gods  of  the  heathen,  I 
am  not  ashamed  to  be  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel  of  God  and  Christ, 
(c)  Not  ashamed  of  the  moral  and  ethical  code  of  the  Gospel.  There 
is  nothing  either  in  the  Ten  Commandments  of  God,  which  are  the 
basis  of  all  Christian  ethics,  or  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which 


328  THE   POWER   OF   THE   GOSPEL. 

Jesus  preached  as  a  practical  exposition  of  the  law  of  Moses,  to 
make  me  ashamed.  I  am  ready  to  compare  these  two  great  exposi- 
tions of  righteousness  with  any  of  the  philosophical  ethical  systems 
of  Greece  or  Rome.  And  so  he  might  have  gone  on  alleging  reasons 
^vhy  he  was  not  ashamed.  Not  ashamed  of  the  salvation  which  he 
promises  and  brings.  Not  ashamed  of  the  gracious  terms  upon 
which  it  is  offered.  Not  ashamed  of  its  universal  character  and  the 
provisions  it  makes  for  the  whole  world,  for  all  nations  and  all  con- 
ditions of  men.  (ii)  Then  there  is  the  other  sense  of  the  word 
"ashamed,"  which  carries  with  it  the  thought  of  not  being  disap- 
pointed. (As  in  Rom,  v,  5,  and  Phil,  i,  20.)  I  shall  not  be  disap- 
pointed in  the  results  of  the  Gospel.  For  the  time  being  it  may 
seem  to  be  a  contemptible  power,  but  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition, 
in  spite  of  the  fewness  and  feebleness  of  the  Christians,  it  is  certain 
to  triumph.  The  people  may  rage  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  may 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together  how  they  may 
prevent  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  and  the  triumph  of  Christ,  but  God 
has  declared  his  decree,  and  Jesus  shall  reign.  (Ps.  ii. )  "  There- 
fore nothing  can  discom'age  me  in  my  work  or  in  my  hope." 

2.  "  It  is  the  power  of  God." — This  is  why  he  was  not  ashamed, 
especially  in  connection  v,dth  the  last  thought  of  not  being  disap- 
pointed. Wliy  are  you  not  ashamed,  Paul  ?  Why,  because  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  power  of  God.  It  is  not  a  human  power,  such  as  that  of 
Rome,  but  it  is  the  power  of  God.  What  can  men  or  devils  do  to 
defeat  the  Gospel  when  God  is  the  power  of  it  and  in  it?  It  is  a 
power,  not  a  force,  jiot  a  blind  movement  in  nature  which  compels 
men,  as  the  movejnent  of  the  glacier  on  the  mountain  compels  the 
rocks  to  give  way  before  its  irresistible  force.  It  is  the  power  of 
God — that  is,  the  intelligent  moral  and  spiritual  power  of  the  great, 
infinitely  intelligent  and  personal  God — who  has  ordained  good  to 
man  and  is  able  to  carry  out  his  ordination.  It  is  the  power  of  the 
mind  of  God  over  the  mind  of  man,  exercised  in  grace,  power  not  in 
arbitrariness  of  mere  force.  It  is  a  benevolent  and  not  a  malevolent 
power — the  power  of  love  and  grace,  exercised,  not  in  mere  sover- 
eignty but  in  gracious  good-will,  recognizing  the  freedom  of  the  will 
of  the  free  moral  being  which  God  has  made  man.  These  are  the 
elements  of  power  which  insure  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel. 

3.  It  is  unto  salvation. — This  is  the  benevolence  of  the  Gos- 
pel, yea,  the  grace  of  the  Gospel.  Did  God  exercise  his  power  only 
in  condemning  sinners,  no  one  could  complain  of  injustice ;  but  it 
has  pleased  God  to  exercise  his  mighty  power  in  grace  to  save  men. 
In  this  salvation  are  included  two  thoughts,     (i)  That  of  saving  man 


THE  RIGHTEOUSNESS  AND  THE  WRATH  OF  GOD.     329 

from  sin,  its  guilt  and  destructive  power,  and  (ii)  of  bringing  him, 
through  forgiveness,  justitication,  and  restoration  of  moral  charac- 
ter, back  to  God  and  highest  happiness. 

4.  "To  every  one  that  believeth." — Here  we  have  the  uni- 
versality of  the  grace  of  God  in  the  provision  he  had  made  for  the 
salvation  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile.  To  the  Jew  first,  not  because  he 
is  more  worthy  or  deserving,  or  the  object  of  a  tenderer  love  or  of  a 
preferred  grace,  but  only  because,  in  the  order  of  revelation,  the  Jew 
has  the  first  natural  privilege.  The  Gospel  came  through  the  Jew- 
ish people,  but  was  not  intended  to  stop  with  them  (as  indeed  it  had 
not  done),  as  witness  the  churches  among  the  Gentiles,  especially  at 
Rome.  The  Gospel  is  revealed  to  faith,  not  to  reason  or  specula- 
tion. To  faith  that  it  might  be  of  grace,  and  not  of  merit ;  for  faith 
is  not  the  meritorious  ground  or  efficient  cause  of  salvation.  It  is 
but  the  instrumental  condition  of  salvation.  Faith  is  said  to  be  the 
hand  of  the  heart  reached  out  to  receive  the  gift  of  God.  By  faith 
here  the  Apostle  means  the  simplest  form  of  belief,  and  not  that  en- 
larged faith  which  takes  in  and  comprehends  the  greater  and  larger 
mysteries  and  wonders  of  salvation. 

IV.— THE  RIGHTEOUSNESS  AND   THE  WRATH 
OF   GOD. 

In  the  Gospel  Paul  tells  us  the  whole  counsel  of  God  is  revealed 
in  respect  of  his  will  and  his  plan  of  dealing  with  man. 

1.  "The  righteousness  of  God." — By  this  expression  we  are 
not  to  understand  here  either  the  gi'eat  moral  attribute  of  God's 
nature,  or  the  righteousness  which  is  communicated  to  the  believer 
through  faith  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  rather  refers  to  God's  plan 
of  salvation.  In  the  Gospel  God's  plan  or  way  of  saving  men  is  re- 
vealed, namely,  the  way  of  faith,  as  even  the  Old  Testament  Script- 
ures taught,  for  so  it  is  there  written :  "  The  just  shall  live  by  his 
faith."  (Hab.  ii,  4.)  The  soul  of  man  makes  its  progress  back  to 
God  by  means  of  this  salvation,  revealed  in  the  Gospel  step  by  step ; 
that  is,  from  faith  to  faith. 

2.  "The  wrath  of  God." — The  inevitable  consequence  of  sin 
upon  the  persistent  sinner  is  also  revealed  from  heaven  against  all 
unrighteousness  and  all  ungodliness  of  all  men,  and  especially 
against  those  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness.  By  this  term 
is  meant  who  "  hold  back  "  the  truth  from  operating  upon  the  mind 
and  heart  of  men  to  whom  it  is  revealed.  Here  is  a  most  solemn 
truth.    God's  righteousness  is  revealed  to  all  men  (Titus  ii,  11),  and 


330  THE  POWER  OF   THE  GOSPEL. 

if  it  were  allowed  to  have  free  course  in  our  hearts  and  minds,  it 
would  save  us.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  put  out,  as  it  were,  our 
hand  to  hold  back  the  truth,  then  the  wrath  of  God  moves  toward 
our  destruction.  Mercy  and  Justice  are  both  moving  out  toward 
the  sinner,  Mercy  leading.  If  a  sinner  will  not  allow  Mercy  to  work 
our  salvation,  but  hold  her  back,  then  Justice  steps  to  the  front  and 
visits  the  just  penalties  of  our  sin  upon  our  souls.  "  Behold  there- 
fore the  goodness  and  severity  of  God."  (Rom.  xi,  22.)  Let  us  learn 
that  the  greatest  privilege  and  responsibility  which  God  has  accorded 
to  man  is  the  hearing  of  his  Gospel,  by  means  of  which  we  shall 
either  be  saved  or  delivered  over  to  death. 


XLI. 

REDEMPTION    IN    CHRIST.— Romans  ill,    19-26. 

(19)  Now  we  know  that  what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to  them 
who  are  under  the  law :  that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world 
may  become  guilty  before  God.  (20)  Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight:  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of 
sin.  (21)  But  now  the  righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  manifested, 
being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets ;  (22)  Even  the  righteousness 
of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  be- 
lieve ;  for  there  is  no  difference :  (23)  For  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God ;  (24)  Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  re- 
demption that  is  in  Christ  Jesus :  (25)  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  pro- 
pitiation through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the 
remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God ;  (26)  To 
declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness :  that  he  might  be  just,  and 
the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus.— Romans  iii,  19-26. 

The  whole  Epistle  to  the  Eomans  has  for  its  object  to  show  forth 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  his  method  of  justifying  sinners  ;  or  how 
God  can  be,  and  is,  perfectly  righteous  and  true  to  himself  in  perfect 
mercy  and  perfect  justice,  while  at  the  same  time  he  justifies  or 
brings  off  the  sinner  free  from  the  curse  of  the  law  and  saved  from 
all  sin.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a  great  redemption 
planned  by  grace  and  executed  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  made  over 
to  the  sinner  by  means  of  faith  :  not  only  without  law,  but  in  such 
a  way  as  to  honor  the  law.  This  redemption  is  an  absolutely  free 
gift  to  man  and  therefore  may  be  accepted  at  once,  and  confidently 
by  the  worst  of  sinners.  The  end  of  it  all  sets  forth  in  glorious 
light  the  righteousness  of  God,  and  lifts  man  from  the  deepest  depths 
of  sin  and  moral  degradation  to  the  highest  heights  of  God's  glory. 

In  the  first  two  chapters  the  Apostle  has  clearly  shown  that  the 
Gentile  is  guilty  of  sin,  because,  though  without  a  formal  revelation 
of  the  law  of  God  respecting  righteousness,  he  had  deliberately  turned 
away  from  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  transgressed  in  the  face  of 
and  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  his  conscience.  The  Jew  is  likewise 
a  guilty  sinner,  if  possible  even  more  guilty,  because  to  him  was  de- 
livered the  plain  written  revelation  and  all  the  oracles  of  God.  All 
the  descriptions  of  the  moral  turpitude  of  sinners  which  are  quoted  in 
the  fore  part  of  the  chapter  plainly  apply  to  the  Jew  as  well  as  to  the 
Gentile.     The  Apostle  therefore  says  that  he  has  "before  proved," 


332  REDEMPTION   IN   CHRIST. 

in  the  first  and  second  chapters,  ''both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  that  they 
are  all  under  sin,"  and  that  therefore  ''there  is  no  difference "  in 
that  respect  in  their  moral  standing  before  God.  (vs.  9,  22.)  If  the 
Gentiles  of  old  with  no  other  lights  than  those  of  nature  and  con- 
science were  declared  guilty  before  God  because  of  their  transgres- 
sion of  the  law  as  seen  in  these  lights,  then  the  Jews  were  much 
more  guilty,  because  to  them  was  given  greater  light.  But  what 
must  be  said  of  us,  who  have  nature  and  conscience,  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  and  the  Gospel?  The  Gentile  had  one  talent,  the  Jew  had 
two,  but  we  have  five,  yea,  five  thousand  talents  of  privilege  and 
opportunity.  If  the  condemnation  of  Gentile  and  Jew  was  great, 
ours  must  be  damning  indeed.  To  whom  much  is  given  of  them 
much  shall  be  required. 

The  Apostle  proceeds  now  to  set  forth  the  relative  positions  of 
man  under  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  and  in  this  connection  to  show 
God's  righteousness,  and  how  it  is  manifested  in  the  salvation  of  the 
sinner. 

I.— THE  POSITION   OF   MAN  UNDER  THE   LAW. 

He  takes  a  common-sense  view  of  the  matter,  and  refutes  some 
nonsense  entertained  and  urged  by  the  Jew.  The  Gentile  might  say 
that  the  law  has  nothing  to  say  to  him,  because  he  is  not  under  the 
law ;  but  it  has  been  shown  that  though  to  him  the  law  of  Moses  was 
not  delivered,  he  is  still  under  law.  The  Jew  takes  the  ground  that 
because  the  law  was  delivered  to  him,  he  was  privileged,  and  the 
law  was  only  to  be  interpreted  as  against  the  Gentile  ;  therefore  he 
was  inclined  to  reject  the  quotations  from  the  law  as  applying  to 
him,  which  the  Apostle  had  just  made  to  prove  him  a  sinner.  Obvi- 
ously, says  the  Apostle,  what  the  law  has  to  say,  or  what  is  written 
in  it,  is  said  or  spoken  to  them  to  whom  it  was  given,  whose  life  and 
polity  was  framed  under  it ;  and  so  the  Jew  could  not  escape.  In- 
deed, he  has  proved  that  all  have  sinned,  therefore  all  are  under  the 
law,  for  where  there  is  no  law  there  is  no  sin.     (v.  13.) 

1.  Man  is  guilty. — Man's  position,  judged  by  the  law,  is  seen 
to  be  that  of  a  guilty  creature.  It  is  the  chief  mission  of  the  law 
to  demonstrate  that.  This  the  law  does  demonstrate,  not  as  con- 
cerns the  Gentile  only,  but  also  the  Jew ;  indeed,  the  whole  world  is 
seen  to  be  guilty,  and  every  mouth  is  stopped.  Not  a  word  can  be 
said  to  disprove  or  extenuate  it.  Not  only  guilty,  but  guilty  before 
God.  God  is  the  highest  authority,  and  since  man  is  guilty  before 
God,  there  can  be  no  appeal  to  a  higher  court.     The  force  of  the 


THE   POSITION   OF   MAN   UNDER   THE  LAW.         333 

word  "guilty"  is,  that  sin  is  not  simply  a  transgression  of  the  law 
of  righteousness,  but  it  renders  the  man  righteously  exposed  to  the 
penalty  of  law.  There  is  no  law  without  penalty.  The  penalty  af- 
fixed to  the  moral  law  of  God  is  death.  Therefore  the  whole  world 
is  by  that  law  condemned  to  death — natural,  spiritual,  and  eternal. 
This  is  the  sad  and  awful  state  in  which  every  sinner  stands  before 
God.  Unless  there  is  some  way  out,  the  penalty  will  be  executed  to 
the  last  jot  and  tittle  and  to  the  bitter  end.  This  is  righteous  and 
inevitable. 

2.  Man  is  helpless. — Since  man  has  broken  the  law  and  the 
condemnation  of  the  law  has  passed  upon  all  men,  man  is  helpless. 
He  is  under  that  law  and  that  law  has  condemned  him.  There  is  no 
other  law.  Any  attempt  to  justify  or  free  himself  from  the  guilt  and 
penalty  of  the  law  is  hopeless.  "  Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law 
there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight :  for  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin."  How  can  we  escape  the  penalty  of  the  law  by 
appealing  to  the  law  which  has  first  exposed  our  sin  and  then  con- 
demned it.  There  are  at  least  three  ways  in  which  this  expression, 
"  the  deeds  of  the  law "  may  be  understood,  (i)  If  by  the  law  is 
meant  the  moral  law,  then  that  law  is  perfect,  and  demands  a  per- 
fect righteousness,  or  an  exact  and  complete  obedience  from  man 
both  to  God  and  his  fellow-creature.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  a  sin- 
ner who  has  alrecuhj  failed,  cannot  look  for  justification  by  any  deed 
he  may  do,  for  he  has  already  failed.  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law 
to  do  them."  (Gal.  iii,  10.)  Beside,  the  law  has  no  provision  by 
which  life  may  be  obtained  or  regained  under  it,  after  it  has  once 
been  forfeited  by  sin.  Not  only  is  this  true  of  the  moral  law,  but 
of  all  law.  The  law  awards  life  if  it  is  perfectly  obeyed  (Rom.  x, 
5) ;  but  it  declares  with  equal  clearness  that,  "If  there  had  been  a 
law  given  which  could  have  given  life,  verily  righteousness  should 
have  been  by  the  law."  (Gal.  iii,  21.)  (ii)  If  by  the  law,  as  some 
think,  the  ceremonial  law  is  meant,  still  it  is  equally  clear  that  life 
or  righteousness  cannot  be  obtained  even  by  the  most  punctilious 
observances  of  these  ceremonials.  In  this  position  the  Jew  counted 
himself  righteous,  but  the  Apostle  clearly  takes  this  false  prop  away 
from  him  when  he  says  that  these  ceremonies,  even  the  sacrificial 
ceremonies,  were  powerless,  since  they  "  can  never  .  .  .  make  the 
comers  thereunto  perfect ;  "  "for  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of 
bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins."     (Heb.  x,  1,  4.) 

3.  The  office  of  the  law.— The  object  of  the  law  is  to  show 
man  his  sin,  and  not  to  take  it  away.     "  For  by  the  law  is  the  knowl- 


334  REDEMPTION  IN  CHRIST. 

edge  of  sin."  The  moral  law  does  this  by  holding  up  its  perfect  pre- 
cepts and  its  absolute  demands  over  against  man's  shortcomings. 
The  ceremonial  law  shows  this  by  the  constant  repetition  of  the  sac- 
rifices. So  far  from  taking  away  sin,  "  in  those  sacrifices  there  is  a 
remembrance  again  made  of  sins  every  year."     (Heb.  x,  3.) 

II.— GOD'S  METHOD  OF  SALVATION. 

Turning  from  the  law  to  God's  righteousness,  and  the  hope  of 
man  in  connection  with  that  revelation,  the  Apostle  now  points  out 
how  a  sinner  who  cannot  be  saved  under  the  law  may  be  saved  by 
God's  righteousness.  "We  have  before  shown  that  by  the  expression 
"  God's  righteousness  "  is  meant  God's  way  of  salvation  without  law. 
God's  way  of  salvation  or  his  righteousness  is  apart  from  law,  not 
only  the  law  of  Moses  in  its  moral  and  ceremonial  aspect,  but  apart 
from  all  law ;  that  is,  without  any  help  from,  or  under  any  provi- 
sions of  law  against  sin.  The  sinner  must  tm-n  away  from  all  law  if 
he  would  be  saved.  He  is  not  to  find  a  law  of  salvation  in  nature, 
in  conscience,  in  the  moral  law,  or  by  sacrifices,  good  works,  cere- 
monials, or  any  other  such  thing.  Though  God  saves  without  law, 
yet  the  law  and  the  prophets — that  is,  all  the  revelation  of  God  given 
by  the  law  and  the  prophets — witness  to  the  fact  that  God  had  in 
reserve  a  further  revelation  for  man  by  which  he  might  be  saved. 
This  is  now  "manifested  "  to  the  world  through  Jesus  Christ.  ''For 
the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared  to  all  men," 
Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews.  "  Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we 
have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing 
of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  he  shed 
on  us  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour."  (Titus  ii,  11 ; 
iii,  5,  6.) 

1.  The  moving  cause  of  our  salvation. — This  is  declared  to 
be  the  grace  of  God.  "Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace."  Grace 
is  a  pure  favor,  without  reference  either  to  a  man's  merit  or  demerit. 
Here  is  a  great  fountain  from  which  salvation  flows  to  man.  It  is 
not  only  grace,  but  it  is  free  grace.  That  is,  God  would  have  us  un- 
derstand that  it  is  grace  absolutely  without  condition,  absolutely 
without  merit  on  our  part.  A  mitigated  law  would  be  grace,  but  it 
is  more  than  that.  It  is  without  law  and  without  meritorious  condi- 
tion. We  are  not  accepted  because  of  any  good  in  us  or  any  good 
works  done  by  us ;  but  just  because  God  freely  and  graciously 
chooses  to  save  us.  We  are  not  excluded  from  this  salvation  be- 
cause of  any  sin  in  us  or  sins  done  by  us.     Neither  human  guilt  nor 


GOD'S   METHOD   OF   SALVATION.  335 

human  righteousness  enters  into  God's  way  of  salvation.  Let  no  man 
think  that  because  he  is  better  than  some  other  man,  relatively,  that 
he  has  a  greater  claim  on  God's  grace.  On  the  other  hand,  let  no 
man,  however  sinful,  fear  that  because  he  is  worse  or  more  sinful 
than  other  men,  relatively,  that  ^he  is  excluded  from  this  gracious 
purpose  and  plan  of  God.  For  there  is  with  God,  and  in  his  sight, 
in  this  matter  "  no  difference,  for  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of 
the  glory  of  God  "  in  respect  to  the  demands  of  God  under  righteous 
law.  Therefore  he  has  concluded  all  under  sin,  both  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile and  sinners  of  all  degree,  that  he  might  be  gracious  alike  unto 
all.     (Gal.  iii,  22.) 

2.  The  meritorious  ground  of  our  salvation. — This  is  de- 
clared to  be  "  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  whom  God  hath 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare 
his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins."  With  this  wondrous 
statement  the  Apostle  John  also  agrees  (I.  John  ii,  1,  2.)  Li  this 
redemption  God  indeed  sets  us  free  from  law,  though  he  has  had  the 
utmost  regard  to  it.  "  For  what  the  law  could  not  do  "  for  us,  be- 
cause of  the  weakness  of  our  flesh — that  is,  our  failures  to  keep  the 
law  through  weakness — God  sent  forth  his  Son  "in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  :  that  the  right- 
eousness of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us."  (Rom.  viii,  3,  4.)  In 
every  respect  Jesus,  who  came  in  the  likeness  of  our  flesh,  indeed, 
who  took  hold  of  us  by  the»incarnation,  and  so  took  his  place  with 
us  under  the  law,  became  the  end  of  the  law  by  utterly  fulfilling  it, 
both  in  respect  to  obedience  to  its  commands  and  its  demands.  He 
perfectly  obeyed  God,  and  rendered  perfect  love  to  man,  and  then 
he,  who  knew  no  sin,  cheerfully  and  gladly  assumed  all  our  sins, 
received  them  all  as  laid  upon  him,  and  by  one  offering  of  himself 
to  God  expiated  them  under  the  law.  (Is.  liii ;  Rom.  x,  4 ;  II.  Cor. 
V,  19-21;  Gal.  iii,  13;  L  Pet.  i,  18-21;  Heb.  ix,  14;  x,  10,  14.) 
The  whole  Scripture  is  replete  with  testimony  as  to  this  great 
method  of  redemption.  Commonplace  and  trite  as  the  statement  of 
this  truth  is  to  us,  it  was  like  the  rising  of  the  sun  upon  the  world 
which  had  been  for  centuries  wrapped  in  midnight  darkness,  when 
Paul  first  began  to  preach  it.  It  was  the  unfolding  of  a  hidden 
mystery  to  the  Jews,  and  a  revelation  of  the  love  and  glory  of  God 
to  the  Gentiles.  It  is  still  the  coming  of  the  light  of  life  to  sinners 
of  every  name,  nation,  grade,  and  condition,  to-day. 

3.  The  instrumental  cause  of  our  salvation. — This  is  said 
to  be  by  faith.  There  is  no  merit  in  faith,  as  we  have  before  pointed 
out.     Faith  is  the  belief  of  the  truth  of  this  gracious  revelation,  and 


336  REDEMPTION   IN   CHRIST. 

the  cordial  and  glad  consent  to  God's  righteousness  through  the 
offering  of  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.  Faith  sees  how  God  has 
thus  settled  this  great  question  for  the  sinner,  and  gladly  accepts 
the  settlement  and  becomes  reconciled  to  God  on  this  basis. 

4.  The  universality  of  the  provisions  of  grace. — Not  only 
has  God  placed  his  righteousness — the  gift  of  God — instrumentally 
within  the  reach  of  all,  by  making  faith  the  means  of  acceptance, 
but  he  has  expressly  declared  that  this  justification  in  Christ  on  ac- 
count of  his  redemption  by  sacrifice  or  blood  is  "  unto  all  and  upon 
all  who  believe,"  and  it  is  in  the  power  of  all  men  of  whatever  earthly 
race  or  condition  to  believe.  The  Jew  (though  first  in  the  order  of 
the  offer  made)  has  no  more  right,  even  by  grace,  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  than  the  Gentile.  The  moral  man  has  no  more  right 
than  the  greater  sinner;  the  rich  lias  no  privilege  in  Christ  over 
the  poor.  "Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 
It  was  this  universal  element  in  the  Gospel  which  so  enraged  the 
Jews  against  Paul,  who  preached  the  Gospel  to  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews,  and  placed  them  on  the  same  equal  footing  with  themselves, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  consider  themselves  the  especial  and 
exclusive  favorites  of  Heaven. 

5.  The  final  cause  of  our  salvation. — ^'To  declare"  "the 
righteousness  of  God."  Moses,  when  he  was  in  the  wilderness,  be- 
sought God  to  sliow  him  his  glory.  This  God  could  not  do,  for  no  man 
could  see  God's  face  and  live.  The  revelation  of  the  full  glory  of 
God  could  not  be  seen  under  the  legal  dispensation.  But  he  caused 
his  goodness  to  pass  before  him,  in  which  there  w^as  a  plain  intima- 
tion of  the  glory  which  was  contemplated  and  in  reserve  through 
the  revelation  of  his  righteousness  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  severity  of  the  law  of  God  against  sin  was  still 
enforced.  How  this  paradox  could  be  explained  was  reserved  for  the 
time  which  had  now  come  upon  the  world  by  the  redemption  which 
is  in  Christ.  (Ex.  xxxiii,  18-19;  xxxiv,  6,  7.)  Now  we  are  per- 
mitted to  see  not  only  God's  face  and  live,  but  in  the  face  of  God  we 
see  the  glory  of  God.  That  glory  is  seen  in  the  revelation  of  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  sinners  through  Jesus 
Christ.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we 
beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth."  (John  i,  14.)  And  again  we  read :  "We  all, 
with  open  (unveiled)  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  (mirror)  the  glory 
of  the  Lord."  "For  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine 
out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ." 


GOD'S   METHOD   OF   SALVATION.  337 

(II.  Cor.  iii,  18 ;  iv,  6. )  This  great  truth  is  expressed  many  times 
over  in  the  New  Testament.  *'  That  in  the  ages  to  come  he  might 
show  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace,  in  his  kindness  toward  us, 
through  Jesus  Christ.  For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith; 
and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God."  (Eph.  ii,  7,  8.) 
The  highest  revelation  of  God,  that  revelation  in  which  his  highest 
glory  is  seen,  is  in  the  revelation  of  "his  righteousness  for  the 
remission  of  sins."  The  wonder  of  this  glory  is  seen  not  alone  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  but  that  sins  are  forgiven,  and  yet  the  very  jus- 
tice of  God  is  conserved  as  well  as  his  mercy  fully  exercised.  Hence 
we  read:  "To  declare  .  .  .  his  righteousness,  that  he  might  be 
just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus." 

6.  The  forgiveness  of  sins  which  are  past. — The  question 
often  arises  as  to  how  God  dealt  with  sin  before  Christ  came,  (i)  If 
no  sinner  was  justified  under  the  law,  either  by  obedience  to  the 
moral  law  and  because  there  was  no  provision  for  life  under  that 
law  for  the  disobedient ;  or  by  ceremonial  sacrifices  which  could  not 
make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect;  how,  then,  were  they  saved? 
We  must  believe  that  God  exercised  forbearance  in  respect  of  the 
sins  of  the  past  under  the  old  dispensation.  Christ  was  a  Lamb  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but  now  at  last  manifested  as  a 
justification  for  his  forbearance  and  forgiveness  of  past  sins,  which 
were  in  fact  forgiven  for  Christ's  sake,  even  though  Christ  had  not 
yet  actually  come.  (I.  Pet.  i,  18-20.)  (ii)  In  respect  of  the  vast 
heathen  world,  God  seems  to  have  "winked"  at^in  among  all  hea- 
then nations.  Overlooking  them  entirely,  and  allowing  the  world  to 
go  on  in  sin  both  without  taking  vengeance  under  the  law,  or  show- 
ing mercy  under  the  Gospel.  I  think  we  may  ventui'e  to  say  that 
though  outwardly  God  does  not  seem  to  have  been  dealing  with  the 
heathen  world  at  all,  for  "the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked 
at "  (Acts  xvii,  30),  yet  in  fact  Christ,  who  is  a  propitiation  not  for 
our  sins  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  (I.  John  ii,  2, 
3)  as  the  ordained  and  eternally  appointed  sacrifice,  covered  their 
case  too.  In  the  meantime,  through  the  forbearance  of  God,  "in 
every  nation  he  that  feareth  him  and  worketh  righteousness,  is 
accepted  with  him."  (Acts  x,  35.)  This  is  confessedly  a  very  diffi- 
cult passage,  but  somehow  it  tells  us  that  through  Christ  God  did 
deal  with  the  whole  world,  even  in  the  past,  as  he  does  now  in  the 
present.  But  now  that  Christ  is  manifested  and  preached  to  the 
whole  world,  that  form  of  forbearance  is  past,  and  he  "  commandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent."  (Acts  xvii,  30.)  "Go  ye  into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.   He  that  believ- 


338  EEDEMPTION  IN  CHRIST. 

eth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  lie  that  beUeveth  not  shall 
be  damned."  (Mark  xvi,  15,  16.)  Now  that  Christ  has  come  and 
has  redeemed  us  by  his  blood,  our  salvation  stands  in  him,  and  in 
him  only.  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life  ;  and 
he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life )  but  the  wrath  of 
God  abideth  on  him."     (John  iii,  36.) 


XLII. 

JUSTIFICATION    BY   FAITH.— Romans  v,    i-i  I. 

(1)  Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  (2)  By  whom  also  we  have  access  by  faith  into  this 
grace  wherein  we  stand,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  (3)  And 
not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also;  knowing  that  tribulation 
worketh  patience;  (4)  And  patience,  experience;  and  experience,  hope: 
(5)  And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed;  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us.  (6)  For 
when  we  were  yet  without  strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  un- 
godly. (7)  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die :  yet  peradventiire 
for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare  to  die.  (8)  But  God  commendeth  his 
love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.  (9) 
Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 
v?Tath  through  him.  (10)  For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son ;  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be 
saved  by  his  life.  (11)  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the  atonement. — 
Romans  v,  1-11. 

Among  other  things  which  characterized  the  preaching  and  writ- 
ings of  the  Apostle  Paul  this  was  one  :  he  was  never  afraid  of  repeat- 
ing himself.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  have  the  record  of 
many  of  his  addresses — that  is,  the  gist  of  them,  given  in  outline. 
They  were  addressed  mainly  to  the  Jews.  In  all  of  them  he  set 
forth  from  the  Scriptures  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  long- 
promised  and  longed-for  Messiah.  He  then  showed  to  them  the  sig- 
nificance of  his  death,  and  proclaimed  his  resurrection,  and  on  the 
basis  of  this  announced  the  kingdom  of  God.  Now  we  have  in  this 
massive  epistle  a  great  theological  treatise.  Here  also  we  see  the 
unwearied  repetition  of  his  central  thought.  The  righteousness  of 
God,  seen  in  the  justification  of  the  sinner  through  faith  in  the  blood 
of  Christ,  who  died  for  sinners,  and  by  whom  we  are  reconciled  to 
God,  and  enter  into  peace  with  him.  In  the  fourth  chapter  the  Apos- 
tle continues  to  argue  the  proposition  laid  down  in  the  third  chap- 
ter, that  it  is  not  possible  for  a  man  to  be  justified  by  the  works  or 
deed  of  the  law.  In  the  same  connection  he  shows  the  other  side  of 
his  proposition,  that  they  are  justified  by  faith,  and  this  he  proves 
from  an  appeal  to  the  case  of  Abraham  the  father  of  the  faithful. 
He  concluded  that  chapter  by  the  reiteration  of  his  central  proposi- 


340  JUSTIFICATION   BY   FAITH. 

tion  that  Christ  ^'was  delivered  for  our  offenses  and  was  raised 
again  for  our  justification." 

I.— THE   FRUITS   OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

The  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life  are  very  many  and  exceeding  pre- 
cious. It  is  as  though  on  every  branch  of  that  tree  there  grew  a 
different  fruit,  yet  all  spring  from  the  same  life,  but  slightly  differ- 
entiated in  quality  and  flavor  by  the  particular  branches  on  which 
they  respectively  hang.  In  this  chapter  we  have  some  rich  clusters 
growing  out  of  justification.  They  are  indeed  but  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit,  only  these,  as  it  were,  hang  on  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  for 
our  eating,  while  those  fruits  of  the  Spirit  which  are  mentioned  in 
the  fifth  chapter  of  Galatians  are  grafted  on  to  our  own  lives,  and 
are  for  the  refreshment  of  others.  Christ  is  the  vine,  and  we  are 
the  branches ;  so  that  we  may  expect  much  of  the  same  fruit  in  the 
believer  as  we  find  in  Christ.  We  have  an  inheritance  in  Christ  and 
he  has  an  inheritance  in  us.  If  this  great  grace  of  justification  is, 
as  it  were,  well  rooted  in  the  garden  of  our  faith,  we  shall  have  the 
blessed  fruits  growing  for  our  eating  and  delight  ever  more. 

In  the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  the  Apostle  lays  down 
his  general  proposition,  "  The  Gospel  ...  of  Christ  is  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth."  In  the  twenty- 
fourth  and  twenty-fifth  verses  of  the  third  chapter,  he  begins  to  open 
up  the  subject,  and  shows  us  how  the  righteousness  of  God  flows  to 
us  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  that  it  comes 
to  us  in  the  form  of  justification  through  faith  and  not  by  the  deeds 
of  the  law.  Now  in  this  chapter,  taking  it  for  granted  that  we  who 
have  believed  have  entered  into  justified  relations  with  God,  the 
Apostle  bids  us  avail  ourselves  of  all  the  advantages  of  that  justifi- 
cation, some  of  which  he  enumerates. 

1.  Peace. — "  Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God."  This  is  an  affirmation.  Some  render  the  passage,  "Let 
us  have  peace  with  God."  In  one  case  the  thought  is,  that  the  justi- 
fication has  been  completed  by  the  acceptance  of  the  believer,  and 
the  first  great  fruit  or  benefit  of  it  is  now  realized :  "  we  have 
peace."  The  other  thought  is  that  justification  is  potentially  ac- 
complished by  the  delivery  of  Jesus  Christ  for  our  offenses  and  his 
being  raised  again  from  the  dead,  by  which  God  has  signified  his 
acceptance  of  the  settlement  of  the  question  of  sin.  This  being  the 
case,  the  Apostle  urges  upon  those  who  are  contemplating  the  work 
of  God  in  Christ,  at  once  to  enter  into  the  peace  pro\ided,  and  no 


THE    FRUITS  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  341 

longer  to  carry  on  the  war  of  sin  and  rebellion  against  God.  In 
either  ease  the  thought  is  most  suggestive.  It  is  still  true  that  both 
thoughts  may  be  appropriated  by  the  believer :  Having  peace  with 
God,  let  us  have  peace  to  the  full ;  let  us  enter  into  it  deeply  and 
truly.  "What  is  this  peace  with  God  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks? 
It  is  not  the  "peace  of  God,"  of  which  he  speaks.  (Phil,  iv,  7.) 
That  is  subjective,  and  refers  to  our  feelings.  This  is  an  objective 
blessing,  and  refers  to  a  state  of  things  set  up  by  the  death  and  res- 
urrection of  Jesus.  Sin  has  made  a  breach  between  man  and  God. 
Sin  has  alienated  and  estranged  man  from  God,  and  it  has  compelled 
God  to  assume  under  moral  government  an  attitude  of  hostility  to 
the  sinner,  for  he  "will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  As  long  as 
the  controversy  which  God  has  against  sinners  is  unsettled,  there 
must,  as  it  were,  be  a  state  of  enmity  between  the  sinner  and  God. 
But  now  that  Jesus  has  settled  that  controversy  by  '^putting  away 
sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,"  having  thereby  perfectly  satisfied  all 
the  righteous  demands  of  God,  there  is  a  state  of  peace.  Peace  has 
been  established.  God  no  longer  seeks  the  sinner  to  punish  and 
destroy,  as  under  the  law,  but  to  reconcile  and  save,  as  under  the 
Gospel.  Now,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  this  state  of  peace, 
or  are  related  to  God  in  peaceful  wise,  and  not  in  antagonism. 
There  is  peace  on  God's  side  who  made  the  peace  and  seeks  the  rec- 
onciliation ;  and  there  is  peace  on  our  side  who  accept  the  settle- 
ment and  gladly  become  reconciled  to  God.  Let  us,  then,  enter 
into  this  peace  with  God  heartily,  wholly,  and  gladly,  and  not  in  any 
half-hearted  manner. 

2.  Access. — This  access  is  not  in  itself  the  blessing,  but  the  way 
to  the  blessing  of  peace,  and  so  it  is  a  part  of  the  blessing,  as  a  door- 
way or  hall-way  in  the  house  is  a  part  of  the  house.  The  Apostle  is 
not  tired  of  retelling  the  story  that  we  are  "justified  by  faith,"  and 
that  the  object  of  our  faith,  and  the  warrant  of  it  alike,  is  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  ''by  whom  also  we  have  access  by  faith  into  this  grace  " 
of  justification,  which  secures  peace.  By  access  he  means  the  privi- 
lege of  approach,  or  an  introduction  into  the  privileges.  We  have  now 
access  to  God,  who  occupies  the  whole  sphere  of  peace,  not  as  mere 
suppliants,  not  as  sinners  to  plead  our  cause,  but  as  those  who  are 
beloved  by  him,  "We  come  into  his  presence  now  as  Abraham  did, 
''the  friend  of  God."  The  Apostle  tells  us  that  here  in  this  state  of 
peace  we  "stand."  By  which  we  are  taught  that  it  is  a  permanent 
relation  and  not  a  temporary  one.  Our  standing  with  God  is  one  of 
peace  and  not  of  disagreement  and  controversy.  Sin  once  made 
strife  and  barred  the  way  of  peaceable  approach  into  God's  presence, 


342  JUSTIFICATION   BY  FAITH. 

"but  Jesus  Christ  has  settled  and  taken  sin  out  of  the  way,  and 
opened  up  a  way  of  approach  to  God,  and  into  the  blessing  of  this 
privilege  of  justification  we  have  come  to  stand,  to  stay,  to  be  fixed 
and  immovable  against  all  shocks  of  the  enemy ;  as  an  army  shut 
up  in  a  strong  fort  may  stand  a  siege  against  any  odds  in  numbers. 
The  believer  standing  in  the  peace  which  Christ  has  made  for  us, 
need  not  be  moved  away  from  his  confidence  or  shaken  out  of  his 
position  of  safety,  certainty,  and  happiness.  The  wicked  stand  in 
slippery  places,  but  the  believer  stands  on  the  Eock  of  Ages,  and 
shall  never  be  moved. 

3.  Rejoicing. — Still  further,  having  gained  this  standing  in 
peace  with  God,  we  "rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  God  is 
working  all  things  toward  a  glorious  end  in  which  he  himself  shall 
realize  the  highest  glory  of  his  owti  being,  and  he  has  appointed  that 
all  who  enter  with  him  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  by  the  way  of  salva- 
tion through  Christ,  shall  share  that  highest  glory  of  his  with  him. 
This  is,  of  course,  first  promised  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
through  him  guaranteed  to  us.  '^Father,  I  will  that  they  also  .  .  . 
be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  (by  sharing 
it  with  me)."  (John  x\'ii,  24.)  Now  it  is  the  justified  believer's 
privilege  to  rejoice  in  this  home.  All  our  better  and  best  things  are 
before  us,  and  will  ultimately  culminate  in  a  joint  participation  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son  in  the  eternal  glory.  This  joyful  anticipa- 
tion of  glory  to  come  is  an  inexpressible  boon  to  the  believer.  We 
can  bear  all  things  and  suffer  all  things  if  we  have  good  hope  of  final 
glory. 

4.  Glorying. — Eejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  is  not  the 
same  as  glorying.  Beside,  the  above-named  blessing,  which  comes 
to  us  with  justification,  is  the  power  of  glorying  "in  tribulation  also." 
It  has  been  said  that  the  Jew  glories  in  the  law,  but  the  Christian 
in  the  cross.  Here  is  a  spectacle  which  has  always  astonished  the 
world.  The  stoic  reached  the  highest  height  of  human  power  when 
he  manifested  his  ability  to  'bear  his  tribulations  with  fortitude. 
Such  an  one  was  held  in  peculiar  honor  by  the  Greeks,  and  was 
supposed  to  be  peculiarly  helped  by  the  gods.  But  that  such 
should  rejoice  in  tribulations,  nay,  even  glory  in  them,  as  though 
there  was  positive  delight  and  good  in  affliction— this  was  unknovm 
to  the  Greeks.  Well !  the  Christian,  if  he  is  strong  in  his  standing, 
can  do  this.  He  counts  it  all  joy  when  he  falls  into  manifold  trials. 
He  knows  that  in  God's  hands  they  serve  to  purify  his  faith  and  ele- 
vate and  perfect  his  character ;  and  then  he  knows  this  also,  that 
""'our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  out  for 


THE   FRUITS  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  343 

us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  (11.  Cor.  iv, 
17.)  The  progressive  benefit  of  trials  and  tribulations  in  this  life, 
when  they  are  accepted  and  dealt  with  by  faith,  are  pointed  out  by 
the  Apostle  in  explanation  of  the  reason  why  we  glory  in  tribula- 
tion, (i)  "Knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  patience."  The  word 
patience  here  means  endurance,  or  constancy.  We  can  only  assume 
the  reality  or  constancy  of  our  faith  and  new  relation  with  God  after 
we  have  had  trial.  To  the  outward  world  the  trials  and  sufferings 
and  sorrows  of  Christians  are  sometimes  as  a  satire  on  the  profession 
of  their  hope  and  joy.  But  when  tribulations  come,  as  a  storm  upon 
a  tree  or  a  tempest  upon  a  ship,  the  storm  works  the  endurance, 
tends  to  bring  into  play  all  the  graces,  and  to  gather  supply  of  grace 
from  God,  who  hath  promised  help  in  every  time  of  need.  Besides, 
the  effect  is,  to  chasten  our  spirits,  moderate  our  earthly  desires,  and 
make  us  patient  in  the  trial,  whereas  formerly  we  would  have  re- 
sented it  and  flung  ourselves  into  the  fellowship  of  bitterness  and 
irritation,  (ii)  "And  patience  experience" — that  is,  '^approval." 
When  trial  comes  to  the  Christian  and  it  is  patiently  accepted,  the 
result  of  the  trial  is  to  commend  itself  to  our  approval,  for  with  the 
trial  comes  a  ministration  of  grace  and  a  fellowship  with  God  which 
makes  it  seem  to  be  a  good  rather  than  an  evil  thing.  We  prove,  out 
of  experience,  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God  which  sent  or  allowed  the 
trial  to  come.  The  tree  is  strengthened  by  the  tempest,  and  so  is 
the  Christian  by  the  tempest  or  fii-e  of  trial.  "  No  chastening  for  the 
present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous ;  nevertheless,  afterward 
it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are 
exercised  thereby."  (Heb.  xii,  11.)  (iii)  '^  And  experience  hope." 
The  hope  here  is  indeed  the  Christian's  hope  spoken  of  above,  but  it 
is  that  hope  not  as  an  abstract  sentiment ;  under  trial  it  takes  body 
to  itself  and  becomes  a  working  and  efficient  grace  in  our  lives.  The 
hope  of  the  true  Christian  becomes  more  active  under  trial,  because 
the  "glory  of  God,"  the  goal  of  our  hope,  now  seems  more  desirable 
and  blessed  in  contrast  with  the  tribulations  which  press  upon  us  in 
this  world,  (iv)  "And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed."  That  is,  the 
Christian's  hope  under  these  circumstances  will  not  be  disappointed ; 
the  Christian  will  not  be  put  to  shame  by  the  failure  of  the  hope 
which  has  been  first  awakened  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  started  into 
practical  activity  under  stress  of  trial.  It  will  give  courage  and  con- 
fidence to  the  believer  while  the  trial  lasts,  and  in  the-end  will  prove 
to  have  been  well  grounded. 


344  JUSTIFICATION   BY   FAITH. 


II.— THE  FINAL  CAUSE  OF  CONFIDENCE. 

The  matter  which  the  Apostle  has  in  mind  in  connection  with  the 
hope  of  the  Christian  is  this :  He  fancies  the  position  of  a  Christian 
after  having  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  gone  through 
trials  and  tribulations,  joyfully,  confidently,  appearing  before  the 
awful  judgment-seat  of  God  and  discovering  that  the  wrath  of  God 
is  burning  against  him.  This,  says  the  Apostle,  is  an  impossibility. 
Hope — that  is,  the  hope  of  the  sinner  that  is  built  on  Christ  and  guar- 
anteed by  God's  way  of  justification — shall  not,  cannot,  be  thus  put 
to  shame.  He  now  proceeds  to  give  his  reason  for  this  assurance : 
''Because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us."  The  Christian's  faith  is  indeed 
something  objective  to  him — that  is,  the  gi-ound  of  his  faith,  that  on 
which  he  builds  hi-s  hope ;  but  the  Christian's  life  is  not  an  unreal 
one  built  on  mere  objective  truth.  The  love  of  God  which  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  gift  of  Christ,  and  in  the  voluntary  sacrifice  which 
he  made  of  himself  for  us,  and  which  is  demonstrated  by  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  is  also  ''poured  out  in  our  hearts  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us."  Here  is  a  real  subjective  ex- 
perience corresponding  with  the  objective  fact  of  his  love.  The 
Holy  Ghost  who  was  active  in  the  incarnation  and  in  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  (as  in  his  resurrection  also)  is  active  in  making  the  impact  ot 
that  love  real  and  thrilling  in  our  lives.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is 
done,  but  the  figure  of  "  pouring  out,"  as  from  one  vessel  into  another, 
is  suggestive.  Of  course  this  is  done  in  connection  with  the  faith 
which  keeps  the  eye  steadily  fixed  on  what  God  has  done  for  us  in 
love  to  our  souls,  and  all  the  circumstances  under  which  he  has 
wrought  for  us.  When  we  are  told  by  Jude  to  build  up  ourselves 
on  our  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  keep  our- 
selves in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  unto  eternal  life  (Jude  20,  21),  it  is  simply  a  message  to  re- 
mind us  of  just  what  Paul  is  saying  to  us  here.  Their  facts  are  the 
same  :  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  the  presence  and  active  energy  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  the  love  of  God,  and  the  end  eternal  life.  The  argu- 
ment is,  that  while  contemplating  the  greatness  of  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  the  Holy  Ghost  will  pour  into  our 
hearts,  by  conviction,  a  real  sense  of  the  truth  of  this  great  mani- 
festation. And  then  further :  "If  these  things  be  so ;  if  God  has  so 
loved  us,  how  can  he  leave  us  to  disappointment  at  last,  no  matter 


THE   FINAL   CAUSE  OF  CONFIDENCE.  345 

what  afflictions  and  tribulations  may  intervene  ?  "     Let  us  see  how 
the  love  of  God  is  manifested  to  us. 

1.  Christ  dying  for  sinners. — This  is  the  general  truth,  but  it 
is  not  the  whole  truth.  "We  must  consider  all  the  circumstances  in 
connection  with  this  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  for 
us.  (i)  The  character  and  condition  of  sinners  for  whom  Christ  died  : 
(a)  "When  we  were  yet  without  strength."  There  was  no  help  in  us 
at  all.  The  love  of  God  came  to  us  when  we  were  in  a  state  of  ab- 
solute helplessness.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  God  helps  those  who 
help  themselves.  Napoleon's  maxim  was,  that  "  Providence  was  on 
the  side  of  the  general  who  had  the  strongest  legions."  But  this  is 
not  what  God  says,  nor  is  it  what  God  does.  *'  When  we  were  yet 
without  strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly."  This 
must  be  kept  in  mind  when  we  are  considering  the  love  of  God.  (6) 
"For  the  ungodly."  Here  is  another  fact.  Man  was  not  only  with- 
out strength,  but  he  was  absolutely  without  claim  upon  God.  He 
was  ''ungodly";  not  only  "atheos,"  but  unlike  God.  There  was 
nothing  in  man  to  commend  God's  love,  (c)  "While  we  were  yet 
sinners."  Without  strength  to  save  ourselves  or  to  stand  against 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God;  but  ''ungodly"  ;  and  in  addition  to 
that  we  were  "sinners."  Here  is  reason  positive,  why  under  com- 
mon human  conditions  God  should  not  have,  or  could  not  have  been 
expected  to  interpose  in  our  behalf.  We  were  sinners,  transgressors 
of  his  law,  not  recognizing  either  his  right  or  our  obligation  to  him 
in  respect  of  moral  conduct,  (d)  "We  were  enemies."  Moreover, 
we  were  active  in  our  hatred  toward  God,  and  in  our  lives  tended 
to  overthrow  his  government,  and  to  wound  and  hurt  him  both  in 
his  love  and  name.  Sin  is  not  only  an  active  evil  to  destroy  the  sin- 
ner, but  it  is  an  active  rebellion  levying  war  against  God  and  right- 
eousness. 

2.  The  nature  and  condition  of  God's  love  for  sinners. — 
Now  look  at  the  display  of  the  love  of  God  in  the  light  of  these  facts. 
The  Apostle  draws  a  striking  contrast  between  the  love  of  God  be- 
stowed upon  us  and  the  most  extraordinary  examples  of  human  love. 
"  Scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  "  (one  who  has  been  strictly  right  in  all 
his  life  toward  his  fellow-man)  "will  one  die  :  yet  peradventure  "  (he 
allows  that  possibly  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world  there  might  be 
found  a  case  where)  "for  a  good  man"  (a  man  of  great  benevolence  of 
character  and  life)  "  some  would  "  (out  of  deep  gratitude)  "  even  dare 
to  die  "  (L  e.,  give  his  life).  This  would  be  an  extreme  and  exceptional 
case,  a  possible  case  at  best.  But  now  contrast  such  a  possible  ease 
of  human  love  with  the  actual  manifestation  of  God's  love  to  us. 


346  JUSTIFICATION   BY   FAITH. 

"  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were 
yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us."  In  this  word  '^commendeth,"  the 
Apostle  finds  an  argument  why  we  should  utterly  believe  and  trust 
God's  love.  He  is  commending  his  love  to  us,  longing  that  we  should 
believe  it  and  accept  it.  God  is  not  reluctant,  but  anxious  in  his 
love  for  us.     Oh,  rare  love  of  God ! 

3.  Christ  living  for  sinners. — Now  if  the  death  of  Christ  for 
sinners  in  their  various  degrees  of  helplessness  and  unworthiness  and 
active  demerit  should  inspire  us  with  confidence,  a  view  of  his  rela- 
tion to  us,  in  that  he  was  raised  from  the  dead,  should  inspire  us  with 
his  ability  to  save  us.  "  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  by  his 
blood,  shall  we  be  saved  from  wrath  through  him."  The  greater  in- 
cludes the  less.  The  great  thing  was  for  God  to  make  such  a  sacrifice 
as  would  rescue  us  from  sin  and  death,  and  justify  us  even  noic,  and 
Iwre.  This  has  been  done.  The  Apostle  starts  this  chapter  by  this 
proposition.  "Therefore  being"  (now)  "justified  by  faith,  let  us 
have"  (or,  we  have)  "peace,  access,  standing,  hope,  and  glorying." 
We  shall  not  be  put  to  shame  at  last  after  all  this  has  been  done  for  us. 
He  completes  his  argument  by  another  antithesis.  "  For  if  while  we 
were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  "  (or  brought  back  to  God) 
'^  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more  being  reconciled  we  shall  be 
saved  by  his  life."  Will  not  God  do  more  for  reconciled  sinners,  his 
own  sons,  than  it  would  be  reasonable  to  suppose  he  would  do  for 
his  enemies.  We  have  seen  what  he  has  done  for  his  enemies,  we 
may  easily  count  on  what  he  will  do  for  his  sons,  who  have  been 
introduced  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  into  his  reconciled  presence,  or 
into  his  presence  reconciled.  Then,  if  the  former  blessing  has  been 
effected  for  us  by  the  death  of  Christ,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  final  salvation  shall  be,  as  it  were,  more  easily  effected  by  his 
life.     After  all,  life  is  more  powerful  than  death. 

4.  Yet  more. — The  Apostle  cannot  be  done  with  counting  up 
blessings  and  re- affirming  grounds  of  confidence.  Therefore  he  adds, 
''And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the  atonement."  To  rejoice 
in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  is  great,  but  to  have  an  exultant  joy  in 
God  himself  is  more.  This  we  do,  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  by  his 
death  and  life  hath  brought  us  into  reconciled  and  saved  relations 
with  God.  The  term  "atonement"  here  means  "reconciliation" ;  the 
blessing  obtained  hy  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  put  for  the  ground 
on  which  it  was  obtained.  The  atonement,  then,  is  that  which  recon- 
ciles as  well  as  the  reconciliation  itself.  It  is  a  present  blessing  like 
justification.     ""We  have  noio  received  the  reconciliation." 


XLIII. 

CHRISTIAN    LIVING— Romans  xil,    1-15. 

(1)  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye 
present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is 
your  reasonable  service.  (2)  And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world :  but  be 
ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is 
that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God.  (3)  For  I  say,  through 
the  grace  given  unto  me,  to  every  man  that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of 
himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think ;  but  to  think  soberly,  accord- 
ing as  God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith.  (4)  For  as  we 
have  many  members  in  one  body,  and  all  members  have  not  the  same 
office :  (5)  So  we,  being  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  mem- 
bers one  of  another.  (6)  Having  then  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace 
that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy  according  to  the  pro- 
portion of  faith;  (7)  Or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering;  or  he 
that  teacheth,  on  teaching ;  (8)  Or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation :  he 
that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with  simplicity;  he  that  ruleth,  with  diligence; 
he  that  sheweth  mercy,  with  cheerfulness.  (9)  Let  love  be  without  dissim- 
ulation. Ablior  that  which  is  evil ;  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.  (10)  Be 
kindly  affectioned  one  to  another  with  brotherly  love;  in  honour  prefer- 
ring one  another;  (11)  Not  slothful  in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serv- 
ing the  Lord;  (12)  Rejoicing  in  hope;  patient  in  tribulation;  continuing 
instant  in  prayer;  (13)  Distributing  to  the  necessity  of  saints;  given  to 
hospitality.  (14)  Bless  them  which  persecute  you:  bless,  and  curse  not. 
(15)  Rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep. — 
Romans  xii,  1-15. 

The  first  chapters  of  this  epistle  are  devoted  to  the  exposition  of 
God's  relations  to  us  in  gi^ace,  manifested  forth  in  the  sacrifice  which 
he  has  made  of  himself  in  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to  rescue  us  from 
sin  and  bring  us  back  to  himself,  followed  by  an  exposition  of  the 
way  of  access  to  God  for  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
The  present  chapter  opens  up  a  new  section,  in  which  we  have  an 
exposition  of  our  relations  to  God,  being  saved  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  and  of  our  duties  to  God  in  connection  with  the  Christian  so- 
ciety composed  of  those  who  through  faith  have  entered  into  organ- 
ized fellowship  ;  and  also  our  individual  duties  in  respect  of  personal 
bearing  one  toward  another  in  private  relations.  We  are  clearly 
taught  in  the  whole  chapter  that  the  new  life  which  God  has  brought 
to  the  world  does  not  find  its  expression  either  in  a  ceremonial  ob- 
servance of  ritual  law,  or  in  the  abstract  confession  and  profession 
of  mere  doctrines.     Christianity  is,  first  of  all,  personal  reconcilia- 

347 


348  CHRISTIAN   LIVING. 

tion  to  God,  accompanied  with  a  new  spiritual  and  heavenly  life  from 
God  communicated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  then  a  new  individual 
and  social  life  manifesting  itself  in  all  due  humility  and  loving  un- 
selfishness toward  others.  This  chapter,  together  with  a  few  others, 
such  as  I.  Cor.  xiii  and  I.  Thess.  v,  is  a  beautiful  compendium  of 
practical  Christian  life,  and  every  Christian  should  study  this  matter 
carefully  and  walk  in  the  paths  so  marked  out.  If  unbelievers  want 
to  see  whether  Christianity  is  a  practical,  holy,  and  divine  religion, 
let  them  study  these  and  other  like  portions  of  God's  Word,  and  com- 
pare them  with  the  best  practical  maxims  of  the  world,  and  they  will 
see  the  vast  superiority  over  the  best  worldly  morality.  "Whence 
have  these  apostles  this  wisdom?  "  might  well  be  asked  of  those  who 
doubt  the  divine  origin  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 

I.— THE   CHRISTIAN  IN  HIS  RELATION   TO   GOD. 

The  Apostle  is  not  now  speaking  of  our  reconciled  relations  with 
God.  This  point  has  been  discussed  in  the  previous  chapters.  But 
he  is  practically  mo\4ng  forward  with  this  thought  in  his  mind.  We 
have  seen  how  God,  in  love  and  grace,  has  interposed  to  save  us  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  how  he  has  brought  us  up  out  of  the  horrible  pit 
and  delivered  us  from  the  awful  bondage  of  sin  and  death,  and  "given 
us  life,  liberty,  and  hope  of  glory.  Well,  then,  being  thus  saved, 
" how  much  o west  thou  unto  my  Lord?"  Not  that  his  salvation  is 
a  bargain,  or  that  we  can  pay  our  debt  to  him  ;  but  how  much  grati- 
tude and  service  "owest  thou"  him  for  all  his  mercies  conferred  upon 
us  so  freely? 

1.  The  Christian  a  sacrifice. — Under  the  old  ritual  law  of  the 
Jews  there  were  five  principal  sacrifices.  The  whole  burnt  offering, 
which  taught  that  man  owed  to  God  his  entire  life, without  any  re- 
serve. In  fact  this  sacrifice  meant  Entire  and  Unconditional  Sur- 
render to  God.  The  meat  offering,  which  signified  Pure  and  Holy 
Walk.  Then  followed  the  peace  offering,  which  signified  Peace, 
Reconciliation,  and  Fellowship.  These  three  were  all  sacrifices  of 
a  ''sweet  smell."  In  them  there  was  no  confession  of  sin,  but  the 
recognition  of  obligation,  the  confession  of  holy  relationship  and 
fellowship.  The  two  other  sacrifices  were  the  sin  offering  and  the 
trespass  offering.  In  these  there  was  the  confession  of  sin.  On  the 
basis  of  the  one,  the  sin  of  the  offerer  was  expiated,  and  on  the  basis 
of  the  other,  the  recurring  sins  of  the  offerer  were  forgiven.  Now  in 
the  forepart  of  this  epistle,  Paul  has  shown  how  Christ  has  become 
our  Sin  and  Trespass  Offering,  through  whom  ''there  is  no  eon- 


THE   CHRISTIAN  IN  HIS   RELATION   TO   GOD.        349 

demnation,"  and  by  whom  we  have  constant  access  to  the  throne  of 
grace  for  recurring  sins.  But  the  Apostle  shows  that  Christ  was  also 
an  Example  of  whole  surrender  to  God,  of  pure  and  holy  living  be- 
fore God,  and  of  utter  service  to  his  brethren.  These  latter  teach- 
ings concerning  Christ  are  more  fully  brought  out  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  Ha\dng  accepted  the  sacrifice  which  Christ  made  of 
himself  to  God  for  our  sins,  the  Apostle  now  presses  upon  us  the 
duty  of  offering  ourselves  up  to  God,  living  sacrifices,  not  for  the 
putting  away  of  sin,  or  the  obtaining  of  forgiveness,  but  in  the 
rendering  to  God,  as  saved  and  accepted  men  and  women,  that 
reasonable  service  which  is  our  duty  to  him  first  by  a  pure  and  holy 
walk,  and  secondly  by  rightly  recognizing  our  relations  to  each  other, 
and  discharging  the  duties  growing  out  of  those  relations  cheerfully 
and  heartily. 

2.  The  characteristics  of  the  Christian  sacrifice. — (i)  It  is 
first  spoken  of  as  "  presenting  our  bodies."  By  the  body  here  we  are 
to  understand  the  whole  man.  Our  bodies  include  our  souls  and 
spirits.  Our  bodies  are  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  our  bodies 
are  the  organs  through  which  the  soul  and  spirit  manifest  them- 
selves, the  instruments  of  service.  To  pretend  to  offer  our  spirits 
and  souls  to  God,  and  withhold  from  him  our  bodies,  is  to  make  a 
mere  pretense  of  consecration,  and  not  a  real  offering  to  God.  When 
Jesus  the  Eternal  Son  of  God  came  into  this  world  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  he  said:  "A  body  hast  thou  prepared  me."  In  that  body 
Jesus  perfectly  served  his  Father.  It  was  the  instrument  of  service, 
and  through  it  he  did  the  work  which  God  gave  him  to  do.  In  like 
manner  we  are  told  that  God  is  the  Saviour  of  our  bodies  also ;  so 
that  we  are  to  serve  him  and  glorify  him  with  our  body  which  is  his, 
equally  with  the  spirit.  "  For  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  :  therefore 
glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's.  (I. 
Cor.  vi,  20.)  (ii)  This  sacrifice  of  our  body  is  said  to  be  ^^a  living 
sacrifice."  The  sacrifices  presented  to  God  under  the  old  cere- 
monial law  were  killed,  but  we  are  to  offer  our  bodies  alive.  We  do 
not  have  to  kill  the  body  in  order  to  serve  God.  That  notion  of  sac- 
rifice is  false  which  leads  men  to  starve  and  scourge  the  body,  and 
otherwise  impair  its  powers.  God  wants  us  in  all  the  living  energy 
of  our  being.  He  has  use  for  the  strength,  the  beauty,  and  the 
power  of  the  body.  We  are  to  serve  him  alive  and  not  dead.  Here 
in  India  men  used  to  commit  suicide  by  all  manner  of  horrible  tort- 
ures, thinking  thereby  to  please  God.  Christ  indeed  gave  his  body 
to  death,  bearing  in  it  our  sins  upon  the  cross,  but  he  was  a  Sacrifice 
for  sin.     Ws  are  to  be  sacrifices  for  service.     He  died  to  obtain  the 


350  CHRISTIAN   LIVING. 

redemption  of  the  body  as  well  as  the  soul  of  the  sinner.  We  live  to 
glorify  God  with  our  bodies  and  our  spirits  together,  (iii)  It  is  to 
be  a  "holy  sacrifice."  That  is,  we  who  are  redeemed  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  are  now  to  offer  our  bodies  as  the  temples  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  therefore  we  are  to  preserve  our  bodies  holy  and  in  sane- 
tification.  ''Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  If  any  man  defile  the  temple  of 
God,  him  shall  God  destroy ;  for  the  temple  of  God  is  holy,  which 
temple  ye  are."     (I.  Cor.  iii,  16,  17.) 

3.  The  argument  for  the  Christian  sacrifice. — The  Apostle 
adduces  two  reasons  why  we  should  thus  present  ourselves  to  God. 
(i)  The  first  is  based  on  "the  mercies  of  God."  This  argument 
might  be  extended  to  all  the  mercies  of  God,  and  have  weight  with 
us.  Mercies  spiritual  and  mercies  temporal.  But  without  doubt  the 
Apostle  is  referring  to  the  great  mercies  which  have  come  to  us 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  according  to  all  that 
has  been  said  before,  especially  in  Rom.  iii  and  v.  This  is  the  argu- 
ment of  Paul  in  I.  Cor.  vi,  20,  which  has  already  been  quoted.  We 
have  been  bought  with  a  price.  The  Apostle  does  not  enjoin  this 
holy  and  living  sacrifice  as  under  law,  but  he  calls  for  it  as  the 
natural  fruit  of  the  new  life  which  has  come  to  us  through  Christ, 
(ii)  It  is  "our  reasonable  service."  Not  that  it  is  a  service  the  duty 
of  which  is  suggested  by  the  mere  reason,  but  a  reasonable  service 
according  to  common  sense,  the  spiritual  law  of  life  and  gratitude. 
What  else  can  we  do?  What  less  can  we  in  reason,  or  in  conscience, 
or  in  love,  offer  to  God  as  an  expression  of  our  gratitude.  He  deals 
with  this  duty,  as  we  have  said,  not  as  a  lawgiver  laying  down  a 
command,  but  as  a  teacher  and  a  brother  with  us  in  the  grace  of  God, 
beseeching  us.  Just  as  he  beseeches  the  sinner  to  be  reconciled  to 
God  (II.  Cor.  V,  20),  so  here  he  beseeches  the  Christian  to  be  a  living 
sacrifice  to  God,  since  he  has  been  reconciled.  If  we  hearken  to  the 
first  tender  entreaty  of  love,  we  should  heed  as  well  this  second  en- 
treaty which  calls  to  duty  according  to  the  law  of  love.  "What 
shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits?"  The  answer  is  : 
"  Present  yourself  to  God  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  to 
God."  (iii)  Moreover,  this  sacrifice  is  an  "acceptable"  one  with 
God.  It  is  a  wonder  of  grace  that  God  should  be  willing  to  accept 
anything  which  we  poor,  worthless,  and  helpless  sinners  could  bring ; 
but  since  he  has  deigned  to  be  pleased  to  accept  anything,  let  us 
give  him  all.  God  is  in  a  sense  longing  for,  and  I  might  even  say, 
reverently,  dependent  on  our  love  and  service  to  fill  up  his  own  glory, 
and  to  satisfy  his  love.     He  finds  a  rest  in  our  yielded  hearts  (Zeph. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  IN  HIS  RELATION  TO  GOD.       351 

iii,  17) ;  he  seeketh  spiritual  men  to  worship  him  (John  iv,  23,  24) ; 
and  he  is  well  pleased  to  accept  our  sacrifice  when  we  bring  it  to 
him.  In  this  he  is  the  Father  rather  than  the  Governor,  "li,  then, 
I  be  a  father,  where  is  mine  honor?"  How  glad  and  happy  we 
fathers  are  when  we  behold  our  sons,  full  of  gratitude,  and  cheer- 
fully and  delightedly  seeking  in  every  way  to  please  us. 

4.  Christian  nonconformity  and  conformity. — These  are 
words  made  common  in  ecclesiastical  controversy.  We  hear  of  cer- 
tain Christians  being  called  "Nonconformists,"  who  do  not  conform 
to  certain  legal  forms  and  ceremonies  in  certain  State  churches,  or 
those  formed  on  similar  bases,  and  which  arrogate  to  themselves  all 
the  peculiar  rights  and  graces  of  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  of  some  who  turn  back  and  conform  their  lives  and  even 
their  thoughts  to  the  authority  of  priestly  societies,  as  being  '^con- 
formists." Now  all  that  is  rubbish.  But  here  is  an  object  that  is 
worthy  of  being  conformed  to,  and  another  one  set  before  us  to  be 
transformed  from.  ''And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world,  but  be 
ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind."  The  word  here  is 
"metamorphosed,"  which  means  changed.  The  same  Tord  used  to 
describe  the  great  change  which  came  over  the  body  of  Christ  when 
he  was  on  the  Holy  Mount,  there  described  as  being  "transfigured." 
Again,  the  same  word  that  is  used  to  describe  the  spiritual  "  change  " 
that  goes  on  in  a  true  Christian's  life  who  is  living  in  communion 
with  God.  (II.  Cor.  iii,  18.)  In  order  to  be  transformed  into  the 
image  of  Christ,  we  must  first  be  non-conformed  to  this  world ;  that 
is,  the  world  that  is  without  God.  We  should  all  be  "  nonconform- 
ists "  in  this  sense.  If  we  are  not,  we  are  not  of  the  Father,  but  of 
the  world.  (I.  John  ii,  15. )  If  we  continue  to  live,  as  a  matter  of 
choice,  in  conformity  to  the  world,  it  is  impossible  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  should  conform  us  to  the  image  of  Christ.  The  object  of  this 
transfiguration  from  the  world  to  God  is  that  we  may  "  prove  what 
is  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God,"  that  we  may 
demonstrate  it  to  be  true  in  ourselves  and  to  others.  We  come  to 
know  the  good  will  of  God  and  the  good  of  God's  will,  by  conforming 
to  it.  "If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine." 
The  will  of  God  comprehending  his  entire  revelation,  but  especially 
his  will  in  connection  with  Jesus  Christ,  is  "good,"  "acceptable," 
and  "perfect."  We  know  it  to  be  so  when  we  come  out  of  the  world 
and  give  ourselves  up  to  God,  and,  moreover,  we  are  then  able  to 
prove  that  will  of  God  to  be  good  and  true  to  others. 


352  CHRISTIAN  LIVINQ. 


II.— THE   CHRISTIAN   IN  HIS  RELATION  TO 
THE   CHURCH. 

It  would  almost  seem  that  this  tender  entreaty  of  the  Apostle  to 
the  Eoman  Christians  was  suggested  by  some  haughty  disorders  that 
had  crept  into  that  noble  church  through  pride  of  gifts  on  the  one 
hand,  and  forgetfulness  of  the  holy  bond  of  union  between  God  and 
the  believer,  and  between  brother  and  brother.  He  speaks  to  them 
now  of  some  specific  instances  in  which  this  law  of  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God  may  be  justly  and  needfully  applied  in  their  own  church. 

1.  The  duty  of  humility. — That  he  may  not  seem  himself  to 
be  a  contradiction  of  his  own  doctrine,  he  very  carefully  suggests 
his  authority  as  being  not  of  and  in  himself.  I  say  the  truth, 
'through  the  grace  given  me."  That  is,  he  would  not  presume  to 
speak  these  plain  words  to  them  if  he  had  not  been  vested  with  a 
certain  authority  or  right  by  God ;  but  he  would  have  them  all  know 
that  the  gift  of  apostleship  which  was  his  was  a  pure  matter  of  favor 
on  God's  part,  and  not  in  any  wise  arising  out  of  his  merit.  His  first 
practical  application  of  the  great  law  of  Christian  sacrifice  is  to  teach 
us  "not  to  think  of  ourselves  more  highly  than  we  ought  to  think," 
but,  on  the  contrary,  to  take  a  moderate  and  sober  view  of  our  posi- 
tion, our  authority,  and  gifts  within  the  church ;  remembering  that 
our  gifts  are  not  of  our  own  conferring  but  are  from  God ;  and  that 
we  have  no  more  right  to  be  proud  of  them  than  if  they  had  been 
given  to  another.  The  Apostle  is  clearly  speaking  of  special  endow- 
ments which  had  been  bestowed  upon  different  persons  in  the  church 
for  the  edification  of  the  whole  body,  and  not  for  the  personal  gratifi- 
cation of  those  to  whom  the  endowments  had  been  given.  (Eph.  iv, 
7,  11,  12.)  In  order  to  enforce  this  exhortation  he  uses  a  metaphor 
which  he  had  before  used  to  the  Corinthians.  (I.  Cor.  xii,  4-12.)  The 
different  members  of  the  body  have  different  offices,  and  yet  they  are 
each  in  their  place  as  necessary  as  the  other,  and  all  are  together 
closely  compacted  into  the  one  body,  and  animated  by  the  same  life 
and  personality.  It  would  be  great  folly  for  the  different  members 
of  the  body  to  take  on  airs,  and  pride  themselves  over  the  other 
members.  The  foot  over  the  hand,  for  instance,  or  the  eye  over  the 
mouth,  each  saying  and  acting  as  though  it  were  of  more  importance 
and  more  honorable  than  the  other.  Now  the  Church  of  God  is  one 
body,  composed  of  many  members,  and  to  some  of  the  members  God 
has  given  special  gifts  in  order  that  the  whole  body  may  be  edified. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S   RELATION   TO  THE   CHURCH.       353 

We  are  at  the  same  time  members  of  one  another,  and  all  of  us  are 
animated  by  the  one  Holy  Spirit.  If  the  Holy  Spirit  is  in  the 
humblest  gift  as  really  as  in  the  greatest,  for  the  possessor  of  the 
greatest  gift  to  pride  himself  and  be  haughty  toward  the  possessor 
of  the  himibler  gift,  it  is  to  set  the  Holy  Spirit  at  variance  with 
himself,  as  it  were.  "Having,  then,  gifts  differing  according  to  the 
grace  that  is  given  to  us,  let  us"  use  them  "according  to  the  propor- 
tion of  faith."  Let  each  man  do  the  thing  in  the  church  which  he 
has  been  appointed  of  God  to  do,  honoring  equally  with  himself 
Qvery  other  man  who  has  been  appointed  to  do  something  else,  and 
let  each  man  do  his  own  work  and  not  seek  to  meddle  with  or  dic- 
tate to  another  brother  in  his  sphere. 

2.  The  exercise  of  gifts. — In  the  early  days  the  church  was 
much  more  simply  constituted  than  it  is  now,  and  the  gifts  of  God 
for  the  purpose  of  ministry  much  more  widely  distributed  and  exer- 
cised. The  assembly  of  the  chiu'ch  was  more  informal,  and  the  serv- 
ices more  popular  and  democratic.  Now  we  usually  have  one  man 
whom  we  style  pastor,  who  exercises  or  monopolizes  the  most  of  the 
gifts,  or  assumes  to  do  so,  or  is  expected  to  do  so  by  the  congrega- 
tion ;  but  it  was  not  so  from  the  beginning.  Then  there  were  many 
men  who  seemed  specially  endowed  to  do  specific  things  in  the 
church,  (i)  The"  prophet"  was  a  man  who  was  peculiarly  gifted  in 
teaching,  by  direct  revelation  from  God.  Sometimes  a  prophet  was 
gifted  to  foretell  events,  but  not  often,  and  we  have  but  few  in- 
stances in  the  New  Testament  where  such  gifts  were  exercised,  (ii) 
The  "  minister."  This  man  was  most  likely  the  deacon,  whose  special 
gift  and  calling  was  to  distribute  the  fellowship  fund  of  the  church 
to  the  poor ;  and  certainly  a  man  needs  special  gift  and  faith  for  this 
work.  He  needs  great  love  and  sympathy,  and  also  great  insight 
and  penetration  :  a  combination  of  good  sense,  firmness,  sympathy, 
and  charity — that  is,  love,  (iii)  The  '^ teacher"  was  one  who  was 
specially  gifted  in  unfolding  truths  already  given  to  the  church,  as  in 
the  ancient  Scriptures,  explaining  the  meaning  and  aj5plying  them 
to  the  practical  conduct  or  for  the  edification  of  the  church,  in  set- 
ting before  believers  the  standing  and  privileges  which  are  ours  in 
Christ,  (iv)  Then  there  were  those  who  had  gifts  of  "  exhortation  " ; 
who  could  by  impassioned  speech  or  great  tenderness  of  appeal  move 
the  church  to  action  or  fill  it  with  consolation.  Such  a  man  was 
Barnabas,  (v)  The  "giver."  This  was  a  peculiar  gift.  A  man 
called  upon  to  disti-ibute  his  wealth  as  imto  the  Lord.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  gift  is  no  longer  confined  to  a  single  or  to  an  occa- 
sional individual  in  the  church,  but  that  it  is  widely  diffused  over  all 


354  CHRISTIAN   LIVING. 

the  chiircli  to  whom  God  has  given  means.  In  any  case  he  was  to 
give  with  simplicity — that  is,  with  liberality  and  modesty ;  gener- 
ously, hut  not  ostentatiously,  (vi)  The  ''ruler"  was  he  who  had 
gifts  which  enabled  him  to  take  the  chair  at  assemblies,  and  direct 
the  business  of  the  church,  preserving  order  and  directing  all  things 
for  peace  and  prosperity.  I  suppose  this  was  the  ''ruling  elder." 
He  must  do  his  work  with  diligence,  give  his  whole  mind  and  heart 
to  the  work,  for  it  requires  both  to  rule  well,  (vii)  "  He  that  show- 
eth  mercy,"  I  suppose  was  the  man  who  was  called  upon  by  the 
Spirit  to  visit  the  sick  and  otherwise  to  help  those  who  were  in  dis- 
tress. This  was  to  be  with  cheerfulness,  not  only  heartily,  but 
cheerily,  so  as  to  make  the  visit  a  glad  as  well  as  a  helpful  one,  to 
cheer  the  spirit  as  well  as  to  relieve  the  distress.  All  these  latter 
gifts,  especially  those  of  beneficence  and  benevolence,  exhortation 
and  showing  mercy,  are  no  longer  limited  to  particular  persons, 
but  are  now  or  ought  to  be  the  gift  of  all  the  members  of  the 
church. 


III.— THE   CHRISTIAN   IN  HIS   INDIVIDUAL 
RELATIONS. 

In  the  concluding  sentences  of  this  paragraph  of  his  letter  Paul 
speaks  to  the  believer  in  respect  of  the  exercise  of  those  common 
and  universal  gifts  which  are  a  part  of  the  frait  of  the  Spirit.  Be 
sincere  in  your  love  to  one  another.  Really  abhor  that  which  is 
evil,  and  do  not  simply  pretend  to  do  so ;  or  perhaps  be  firm  and 
frank  in  refusing  fellowship  with  evil  in  your  brethren,  and  stead- 
fast in  sticking  to  the  good  and  the  right,  however  unpopular  it  may 
make  you.  "  Be  kindly  affectioned  to  one  another ;  ...  in  honor  pre- 
ferring one  another."  This  is  to  exercise  that  gentle  courtesy  which 
so  honors  Christ,  and  goes  so  far  to  make  life  happy  among  brethren. 
Where  this  grace  is  in  exercise,  all  others  must  certainly  grow.  I 
have  heard  of  a  certain  plant  that  drops  water  upon  the  ground  and 
so  makes  it  fertile  for  other  plants  which  would  else  die  in  a  drought. 
Well,  it  is  so  with  Christian  courtesy.  In  whatever  business  we 
may  have  in  hand,  especially  the  Lord's  work,  let  our  zeal  not  be 
indolent,  but  "fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord"  with  our  w^hole 
hearts.  Out-and-outness  and  whole-heartedness  is  the  idea.  Re- 
joicing in  hope,  as  every  true  Christian  ought  to  do ;  be  patient  in 
trial,  and  go  not  about  complaining  and  discouraged  and  down- 
hearted, as  though  God  had  forgotten  you,  or  were  dealing  hardly 
with  you ;  especially  maintain  and  cultivate  the  spirit  and  habit  of 


THE  CHRISTIAN  IN  HIS  INDIVIDUAL  RELATIONS.    355 

prayer.  Divide  your  overplus  of  good  things  with  those  who  are  in 
need,  and  keep  an  open  house  for  the  people  of  God  whom  occasion 
or  business  makes  it  necessary  to  travel  your  way.  Hospitality 
often  "entertains  angels."  Bless  them  that  persecute  you,  and  so 
with  coals  of  fire  burn  out  their  anger  and  change  it  into  love.  And 
finally,  be  sympathetic,  and  take  an  interest  in  all  that  affects  the 
happiness  of  your  brethren.  ''  Rejoice  vith  them  that  do  rejoice, 
and  weep  with  them  that  weep." 


XLIV. 

ABSTINENCE    FOR    THE    SAKE   OF    OTHERS.— I.  Cor. 
viii,    1-13- 

(1)  Now  as  toucliing  things  offered  unto  idols,  we  know  that  we  all  have 
knowledge.  Knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  charity  edifleth.  (2)  And  if  any 
man  think  that  he  knoweth  any  thing,  he  knoweth  nothing  yet  as  he  ought 
to  know.  (3)  But  if  any  man  love  God,  the  same  is  known  of  him.  (4)  As 
concerning  therefore  the  eating  of  those  things  that  are  offered  in  sacrifice 
unto  idols,  we  know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that  there  is 
none  other  God  but  one.  (5)  For  though  there  be  that  are  called  gods, 
whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  (as  there  be  gods  many,  and  lords  many,) 
(6)  But  to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and 
we  in  him ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by 
him.  (7)  Howbeit  there  is  not  in  every  man  that  knowledge :  for  some  with 
conscience  of  the  idol  unto  this  hour  eat  it  as  a  thing  offered  unto  an  idol ; 
and  their  conscience  being  weak  is  defiled.  (8)  But  meat  commendeth  us 
not  to  God :  for  neither,  if  we  eat,  are  we  the  better ;  neither,  if  we  eat  not, 
are  we  the  worse.  (9)  But  take  heed  lest  by  any  means  this  liberty  of  yours 
become  a  stumblingblock  to  them  that  are  weak.  (10)  For  if  any  man  see 
thee  which  hast  knowledge  sit  at  meat  in  the  idol's  temple,  shall  not  the 
conscience  of  him  which  is  weak  be  emboldened  to  eat  those  things  which 
are  offered  to  idols;  (11)  And  through  thy  knowledge  shall  the  week 
brother  perish,  for  whom  Christ  died?  (12)  But  when  ye  sin  so  against  the 
brethren,  and  wound  their  weak  conscience,  ye  sin  against  Christ.  (13) 
Wherefore,  if  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the 
world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend.— I.  Cor.  viii,  1-13. 

Several  questions  in  casuistry  had  been  propounded  to  the  Apostle 
Paul  by  certain  persons  at  Corinth.  Perhaps  the  questions  had  been 
sent  up  formally  by  the  church  itself,  in  order  that  with  his  answer 
they  might  come  to  some  amicable  and  brotherly  conclusion  in  re- 
spect to  the  questions  in  controversy,  much  as  the  church  at  Antioch 
submitted  their  questions  to  the  apostles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem. 
(Acts  XV.)  The  question  was  one  touching  the  lawfulness  of  a 
Christian  eating  meat  which  had  been  formally  dedicated  to  an  idol. 
The  social  life  of  Corinth  was  more  or  less  closely  articulated  into 
the  religious  life.  The  idolaters  used  to  have  feasts  in  their  temples 
just  as  the  Christians  used  to  have  love-feasts  in  their  churches.  To 
these  idol  feasts  it  was  not  infrequently  the  case  that  some  Chris- 
tians were  invited,  just  as  to-day  Christians  are  not  infrequently  in- 
vited by  their  unconverted  friends  to  a  purely  social  feast.     Then 

356 


CONCERNING   KNOWLEDGE  AND  LOVE.  357 

again  (chapter  x),  the  meat  of  the  sacrifices  offered  to  the  idols  was 
often  sold  by  the  priests  of  the  temples  to  the  bazars,  and  from 
thence  in  turn  sold  to  the  people  for  food.  The  question  was  :  Could 
a  Christian  without  sin  join  in  one  of  these  feasts  and  eat  the  meat 
that  had  been  formally  dedicated  to  the  idol,  or  could  he  without  sin 
buy  and  eat  the  meat  which  was  exposed  for  sale  in  the  bazars 
which  he  knew  had  been  ofi'ered  to  the  idols  ?  There  were  two  parties 
to  this  question  in  the  church.  One  was  composed  of  those  who, 
having  attained  a  higher  knowledge  as  to  the  truth  concerning  the 
vanity  of  idols,  and  to  a  larger  apprehension  of  individual  Christian 
liberty  in  those  matters  which  were  themselves  indifferent,  claimed 
that  there  was  no  sin  or  wrong  in  eating  such  meat  or  mingling  in 
such  festivities.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  those  who,  though 
they  had  eschewed  idolatry  and  had  embraced  Christ,  had  not  as  yet 
been  able  to  shake  themselves  free  from  the  belief  that  the  idols  of 
the  heathen  were  really  closely  related  to  spiritual  beings,  and  not 
merely  the  creatures  of  the  imagination.  For  such  to  have  partaken 
of  meat  dedicated  to  these  idols  would  have  been  an  act  of  disloyalty 
to  Christ,  and  the  first  step  backward  toward  apostasy.  Their  con- 
sciences were  dead  against  the  practice,  and  some  who  were  making 
this  fight  for  conscience  were  being  tempted  to  give  it  up,  and  were 
thus  in  danger  of  losing  their  new  faith.  They  were  the  "weak 
brethren,"  who  were  not  fully  established  in  knowledge  and  liberty. 
The  Apostle  met  this  question,  as  he  always  met  such  questions, 
with  frankness  and  clearness  of  spiritual  perception. 

I.— CONCERNING    KNOWLEDGE  AND   LOVE. 

The  Apostle  opens  this  question  by  first  laying  down  two  or  three 
preliminary  propositions  which  form  a  basis  for  further  observa- 
tions. 

1.  A  knowledge  common  to  aU. — ^^  We  know  that  we  all  have 
knowledge."  This  declaration  may  refer  to  that  which  had  been 
clearly  taught  by  the  apostles  concerning  the  vanity  of  idols  and  the 
freedom  of  the  individual  believer  in  Christ.  This  had  probably 
been  quoted  in  the  letter  submitting  the  question  in  debate  to  Paul, 
by  those  who  were  contending  for  the  privilege  of  partaking  of  the 
meat  under  the  circumstances  in  question,  in  justification  of  their 
action  and  against  the  protest  of  the  weaker  brethren.  It  is  quite 
true,  says  the  Apostle  ;  we  have  all  been  taught  this  truth,  but  some 
have  not  as  yet  fully  grasped  it,  and  some  of  you  are  holding  this 
knowledge  abstractly,  and  not  in  loving  fellowship.     Mere  knowl- 


358         ABSTINENCE   FOR   THE   SAKE   OF   OTHERS. 

edge  is  not  a  sufficient  guide  to  us  in  such  questions  as  this ;  nor  is 
mere  knowledge  a  thing  to  be  proud  of.  He  therefore  proceeds  to 
an  analysis  (or  rather  to  an  examination)  of  knowledge. 

2.  There  are  two  kinds  of  knowledge. — (i)  Knowledge  with- 
out love.  The  knowledge  that  puffs  up  and  inflates  the  mind  with 
conceit.  Mere  knowledge  "puffeth  up/'  says  the  Apostle ;  for  in- 
stance, a  doctrinal  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Christ,  without  an^ ex- 
perimental knowledge  of  God  as  a  personal,  heavenly  Father,  and  of 
Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour  revealed  in  the  heart  and  to  the  life. 
Such  a  knowledge,  good  in  itself  and  as  far  as  it  goes,  does  not  con- 
tribute to  real  growth  or  upbuilding  of  character.  It  inflates  the 
mind,  but  does  not  build  up  the  spiritual  life.  Just  as  an  excess  of 
water  in  the  body  causes  a  puffing  up  of  the  body,  which  is  quite  dif- 
ferent from  that  solid  growth  of  flesh  which  is  the  result  of  a  health- 
ful condition  of  the  blood,  (ii)  The  knowledge  which  is  combined 
with  love ;  or  rather,  the  Apostle  says,  that  love  is  a  higher  kind  of 
knowledge.  Some  men,  as  we  say,  know  God  with  their  heads,  while 
others  know  him  with  their  hearts.  In  one  case  a  man  may  know 
and  yet  not  love  God,  in  the  other  case  a  man  may  love  God  and  yet 
have  a  very  imperfect  theological  knowledge  of  him.  The  latter 
kind  of  knowledge  serves  more  to  build  up  the  true  life  than  the 
former.  It  takes  hold  of  the  affections  and  controls  them,  whereas 
the  former  kind  of  knowledge  leaves  the  best  part  of  man  unaffected. 
The  exposition  of  the  knowledge  of  love  is  found  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  this  epistle.  Read  it.  That  knowledge  considers  both 
God  and  our  brethren,  and  binds  us  to  both ;  whereas  mere  intellect- 
ual knowledge  leaves  us  isolated  and  filled  with  pride. 

3.  A  caution  against  pride. — Moreover,  the  Apostle  tells  them 
that  no  man  has  such  an  exhaustive  knowledge  of  God,  or  any  of 
the  subjects  connected  with  our  relation  to  him,  as  to  make  us  suffi- 
cient in  ourselves.  For  at  best  we  only  know  in  part.  Indeed,  we 
know  nothing  as  we  ought  to  know  it.  The  palace  of  knowledge  is 
an  ever  enlarging  one.  We  no  sooner  enter  into  one  chamber  than 
we  discover  a  door  which  leads  into  another.  We  have  not  yet  at- 
tained in  this  respect,  nor  are  we  already  made  perfect.  Let  us  then 
be  modest  in  our  assertions  of  knowledge,  and  careful  lest,  proceed- 
ing upon  a  partial  knowledge  of  things,  we  make  a  tremendous 
blunder.  Love  is  in  any  case  a  surer  guide  than  knowledge,  for  it 
has  in  it  the  instinct  and  germ  of  all  knowledge  and  right  relation. 
Knowledge  is  a  dangerous  borderland,  and  we  need  love  to  lead  us 
by  the  hand  while  we  are  in  it. 

4.  Safety  in  love. — If  knowledge  without  love  is  dangerous,  be- 


CONCERNING    GOD    AND    IDOLS.  359 

cause  it  does  not  necessarily  unite  us  to  God  and  our  brethren,  love 
is  a  position  of  safety.  "  If  any  man  love  God,  the  same  is  known 
of  him."  That  is,  the  man  who  loves  God  is  brought  under  the  im- 
mediate protection  and  guidance  of  God,  and  so  is  safe.  ^*  The  Lord 
knoweth"  (superintends  and  watches  over)  ''the  way  of  the  right- 
eous :  but  the  way  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish  " — that  is,  lead  him  to 
destruction.  (Ps.  i,  6;  see  also  Nahum  i,  7;  Matt,  vii,  21-23; 
Johnx,  14;  IL  Tim.  ii,  19.) 

II.— CONCERNING  GOD  ANB   IDOLS. 

The  question  in  controversy,  namely,  the  eating  of  meat,  lies  be- 
tween our  knowledge  of  God  and  idols  and  our  relations  to  them. 
Now,  what  do  we  know  of  these  two  ? 

1.  Concerning  idols. — ''We  know  that  an  idol  is  nothing."  In 
itself  it  is  nothing  but  a  piece  of  stone  or  wood,  and  cannot,  there- 
fore, affect  any  question  of  right  and  wrong,  or  exercise  any  influ- 
ence over  meat  to  sanctify  it  or  to  mar  it.  As  it  is  the  representa- 
tive of  a  fancied  god,  it  is  nothing,  because  at  best  it  is  only  the 
representation  of  an  imaginary  being  who  has  no  existence  in  fact. 
Therefore  it  can  never  affect  our  actions  one  way  or  the  other  in  the 
matter  of  right  and  wrong,  and  has  no  powder  either  to  sanctify  or  to 
defile. 

2.  Concerning  God. — "  There  is  none  other  God  but  one."  "  To 
us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,"  who  is  the  Creator  of  all  things, 
''  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  who  is  one  with  him  in  creation,  and  the 
only  mediator  between  God  and  man.  This  is  the  fundamental  doc- 
trine of  Christianity.  (Mark  xii,  29,  30 ;  John  i,  1-3 ;  I.  Tim.  ii,  5,  6, ) 
The  instructed  Christian  must  regulate  his  life  in  relation  to  this  one 
only  true  and  living  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  (who  is  the  revelation  of 
him),  and  our  mediator.  If  all  understood  this  thoroughly  and  em- 
braced it  cordially,  the  question  of  eating  meat  offered  to  idols  would 
cease  to  be  a  question,  because  all  would  understand  that  the  "  idol 
is  nothing,"  and  so  could  not  enter  into  the  question  at  all. 

3.  All  have  not  this  knowledge.— Unfortunately  there  are 
those  whose  knowledge  is  imperfect  even  in  so  fundamental  a  truth 
as  this.  Though  converted  from  idols  and  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ, 
they  are  still  under  the  delusion  that  an  idol  is  a  real  being  or  stands 
for  a  real  being.  Their  consciences  have  not  been  fully  emancipated 
from  the  control  of  the  old  "superstition,  or  set  entirely  free  and  made 
strong  in  the  glorious  liberty  of  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore  for  them 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  idols  or  things  offered  to  idols  would  be 


3G0  ABSTINE^X*E   FOR   THE    SAKE   OF    OTHERS. 

to  (lefilo  thoir  consciences ;  and  to  see  others,  who  likewise  profess 
tlio  faith  of  Christ,  ^'oing  into  an  idol's  temple  and  eating  meat  that 
has  been  offered  to  the  idol,  would  scandalize  them,  or  cause  them, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  disregard  their  conscientious  scruples  and 
commit  themselves,  through  example,  to  an  act  of  idolatry  wdiich 
was  not  contemplated  or  practiced  by  the  brother  of  larger  knowl- 
edge and  a  freer  or  stronger  conscience.  This  enlarges  the  ques- 
tion and  brings  our  weak  brother  into  it,  and  must  bear  upon  the 
decision  of  our  own  private  action. 

III.— CHBISTIAN   LIBEHTY  AND   CHRISTIAN 
CHARITY. 

With  these  principles  and  facts  laid  down,  the  Apostle  proceeds 
to  discuss  the  jn-actice  of  the  believer  under  these  circumstances. 

1.  As  to  eating  meat. — Always  true  to  principle,  the  Apostle 
first  is  careful  to  say  (by  implication)  that  the  meat  offered  to  an 
idol  is  not  in  any  wise  affected  as  to  its  quality.  It  remains  the 
same  good  creature  of  God,  whether  it  has  been  offered  to  an  idol  or 
not.  At  the  same  time  he  also  clearly  shows  that  though  it  is  lawful 
to  eat  meat,  even  though  offered  to  an  idol  (from  the  point  of  view 
just  discussed),  yet  to  eat  meat  is  not  a  positive  act  of  religion.  We 
do  not  commend  ourselves  to  God  by  eating  meat,  whether  offered 
to  an  idol  or  not  offered  to  idols.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mere 
abstinence  from  meat  does  not  commend  us  to  God.  '^  The  kingdom 
of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink  " — it  is  something  more  and  better.  It 
is  ^^righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  That  is,  it 
is  in  recognizing  and  discharging  those  obligations  to  God  and  man 
in  the  relation  in  wdiieh  we  stand  to  them  ;  in  ordering  our  lives  so  as 
to  make  for  peace  in  the  church,  and  among  ourselves  and  men  gen- 
erally ;  it  is  in  doing  those  things  or  abstaining  from  doing  those 
things  which  by  so  doing  or  not  doing  will  contribute  to  that  kind 
of  fellowship  which  will  insure  the  joys  of  salvation  to  all.  As  to 
the  meat,  we  are  neither  the  better  for  eating  nor  the  worse  for  not 
eating. 

2.  Love  greater  than  liberty. — The  last  remark  concerning 
the  indifference  of  eating  or  not  eating  meat,  in  which  there  is  the 
clear  inference  that  there  is  no  wrong  in  so  doing,  might  perhaps 
encourage  those  who  were  strong  to  say :  "  Well,  since  it  is  not 
wrong,  w^e  are  at  liberty  to  eat  meat,  and  so  we  will.  Let  others  ab- 
stain if  they  choose,  but  we  will  eat."  To  this  Paul  interposes  with 
the  caution,  that  though  we  are  at  liberty  to  eat  under  the  law  of 


CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY  AND  CHRISTIAN  CHARITY.     361 

Christ,  yet  we  are  never  at  liberty  to  use  oiir  freedom,  if  by  so  doing 
we  should  even  indirectly  cause  or  be  the  occasion  of  a  wrong  to 
another.  "For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself."  Love  gladly  considers 
another's  good  as  well  as  its  own.  The  strong  ought  always  to  be 
considerate  and  tender  of  the  weak,  and  on  no  account  give  them 
an  occasion  to  stumble  and  fall.  Liberty  is  a  great  privilege  and 
blessing,  but  love  is  even  greater.  "  It  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world,"  certainly  greater  than  eating  meat,  drinking  wine,  enjoying 
a  theater,  participating  in  a  dance,  or  playing  at  cards,  all  of  which 
may  in  themselves  (under  given  circumstances)  be  harmless,  and 
sometimes  even  good.  Therefore  "  take  heed  lest  by  any  means  this 
liberty  of  yours  becomes  a  stumbling-block  to  them  that  are  weak." 
How  can  the  doing  of  a  thing  not  wrong,  and  even  right  and  good  in 
itself,  become  a  stumbling-block  to  any  one?  Simply  because  some 
have  not  attained  to  knowledge  and  strength  in  these  things — have 
a  conscience  against  them,  and  by  example  may  be  emboldened  to 
do  a  thing  which  would  defile  or  burden  their  conscience,  or  weaken 
its  authority.  Their  ignorance  and  bondage  may  in  this  way  lead 
them  (through  your  knowledge  and  freedom)  into  sin,  or  that  which 
would  be  sin  to  them. 

3.  For  whom  Christ  died. — This  is  one  of  Paul's  favorite 
methods  of  protecting  the  weak  brother.  He  puts  him  under  the 
shelter  of  Christ's  sublime  love.  One  for  whom  Christ  died  must  be 
very  precious  to  him,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  to  us,  for  in  Christ 
we  are  members  one  of  another.  This  ought  to  be  enough ;  but  the 
Apostle  goes  further  and  says,  that  to  be  the  occasion  of  such  an  one 
sinning  is  to  sin  against  such  an  one,  and  to  sin  against  such  an  one 
is  to  sin  against  Christ ;  for  Christ  does  so  identify  himself  with  his 
people,  both  collectively  and  individually,  even  with  the  very  weak- 
est of  the  flock,  that  whatsoever  is  done  to  them,  or  to  any  one  of 
them,  is  done  to  him.  You  may  feel  impatient  with  the  ignorance 
and  narrowness  of  your  weak  brother,  but  since  Christ  has  embraced 
him  and  identified  himself  with  him,  your  impatience  is  leveled  at 
Christ,  and  not  alone  at  the  weak  brother.  "If  you  love  me,"  saith 
Christ,  "you  will  love  and  be  patient  and  careful  of  this  my  weak 
but  tenderly  loved  brother."  To  do  otherwise  is  to  imperil  his  very 
life,  for  the  life  is  reached  and  saved  through  the  conscience ;  to 
destroy  the  conscience,  therefore,  is  to  destroy  the  brother.  "Would 
you  be  willing  to  eat  meat  at  that  expense? 

Besides,  how  unworthy  a  use  to  make  of  knowledge  and  liberty ! 
It  would  be  as  though  a  weapon  having  been  put  into  your  hand 
with  which  to  defend  yourself  against  an  enemy,  you  should  use  it 


362         ABSTINENCE  FOR    THE   SAKE  OF  OTHERS. 

to  murder  a  friend.  To  use  knowledge  in  this  fashion  is  not  to  edify- 
either  one's  self  or  one's  neighbor,  but  it  is  to  destroy  both ;  for  be 
assured  that  such  a  misuse  of  liberty  will  certainly  react  on  the  one 
so  using  it  by  turning  it  into  mere  license. 

4.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter. — The  strong  feeling 
of  the  Apostle  expressed  in  the  preceding  (12th)  verse  leads  him  to 
record  at  least  for  himself  something  almost  like  a  vow.  "  Where- 
fore, if  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend  "  (that  is,  give  him  an  occa- 
sion to  defile  his  conscience  and  so  perish),  "I  will  eat  no  flesh 
while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend."  This 
is  both  strong  language  and  a  strong  position.  A  position  involving 
the  noblest  self-sacrifice.  Not  every  one  is  equal  to  it,  certainly  not 
many  do  it.  An  eminent  writer,  contrasting  the  beginning  and  the 
ending  of  this  section  of  Paul's  reply  says  :  "  The  strong  sought  the 
solution  of  the  question  from  the  standpoint  of  knowledge  and  its 
rights ;  the  Apostle  finds  it  from  the  standpoint  of  love  and  its 
obligations." 

This  study  has  evidently  been  suggested  because  of  a  supposed 
principle  contained  herein,  which  bears  practically  upon  the  great 
question  of  total  abstinence  from  the  use  of  intoxicants.  Certainly 
it  has  such  a  bearing,  although  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
use  of  intoxicants  is  a  somewhat  different  one  from  eating  meat 
offered  to  idols.  There  is  not,  in  the  first  place,  the  question  of  con- 
science per  se  involved  in  the  use  of  wine.  For  the  use  of  wine 
in  itself  is  not  a  sin,  nor  is  its  ordinary  use  forbidden  in  any  place 
in  the  Scriptures.  That  the  abuse  of  this  habit  has  come  to  be  one 
of  the  worst  evils  of  our  times  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Many  a  be- 
liever, not  weak  in  conscience,  but  in  will,  has  been  destroyed  by- 
drink — that  is,  by  the  excessive  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  The  ques- 
tion is  this:  '^In  the  present  circumstances,  ought  a  believer  who 
has  no  passion  for  drink  abstain  from  the  use  of  wine  altogether 
as  a  means  of  saving  his  weak  brother  from  the  habit?"  Certainly 
the  answer  of  love  would  be,  ^'If  by  such  abstinence  I  could  save 
even  one  man  from  becoming  a  drunkard,  one  man  for  whom  Christ 
died,  I  would  rather  drink  no  more  wine  while  the  world  stands." 
"If  a  weak  brother  becomes  a  drunkard  through  my  temperance, 
then  had  I  better  give  up  my  temperance  and  become  a  total  ab- 
stainer." I  think  it  is  only  fair,  however,  to  consider  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  temperate  and  lawful  use  of  wine  is  the  example 
that  makes  for  the  intemperate  and  unlawful  use  of  it.  Drunkards 
do  not  become  drimkards  because  other  men  are  temperate.  Never- 
theless, the  argument  of  love  here  is  the  great  one.     If  even  a  tern- 


CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY  AND  CHRISTIAN  CHARITY.     363 

perate  use  of  wine  leads  another  brother  to  the  intemperate  use  of 
it,  then  love  would  suggest  the  great  sacrifice  of  all  personal  liberty 
and  right  in  the  matter.  I  only  say  that  it  is  not  a  fair  inference 
from  this  principle  that  every  man  who  uses  wine  temperately  is  to 
be  held  responsible  for  the  intemperate  use  of  it  by  others.  If  a 
man  perceives  that  he  cannot  use  wine  temperately,  then  it  is  his 
duty  to  give  it  up  utterly.  But  because  he  being  weak  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  put  himself  under  bonds  for  strength,  it  does  not  follow  that 
he  has  the  right  to  compel  or  demand  the  strong  man  to  put  himself 
under  bonds.  If  one  man  through  weakness  cannot  walk  without 
crutches,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  law  of  love  compels  all  strong 
men  to  use  crutches  just  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  him  company, 
nor  would  it  justify  him  in  saying,  "  Unless  you  use  the  crutches 
that  are  not  necessary  for  your  standing,  I  will  throw  away  mine 
and  fall  crippled  to  the  ground,  and  will  hold  you  responsible  for  my 
fall."  This  is  not  charity,  but  bigotry  and  intolerance.  Yet  let  no 
man  boast  of  his  strength.  ''Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take 
heed  lest  he  fall."  Some  people  cannot  eat  strawberries  without 
suffering  a  kind  of  poisoning.  Must  all  therefore  give  up  eating 
strawberries?  Nay,  rather,  let  the  man  who  is  poisoned  by  them 
give  them  up  without  making  an  arbitrary  demand  upon  his  brethren. 
Nevertheless,  if  I  had  a  guest  at  my  table  whom  I  knew  to  be  so 
constituted  as  not  to  be  able  to  eat  strawberries,  while  he  has  a  pas- 
sionate love  and  longing  for  them,  I  would  banish  strawberries  from 
my  table  during  the  rest  of  my  life  rather  than  subject  the  brother 
who  could  not  eat  them  to  the  peril  involved  in  eating,  or  the  severe 
strain  of  self-denial.  "  Let  every  one  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind  "  in  this  matter,  and  while  the  strong  should  under  given  cir- 
cumstances sacrifice  liberty  to  the  weak,  the  weak  should  not  indulge 
in  censure  against  those  who  have  not  the  need  of  their  caution.  On 
both  sides,  the  Apostle's  urgent  word,  ''  Take  heed,"  ought  to  be 
pondered.  In  any  ease,  it  is  love  for  our  brother  and  love  for  Christ 
that  must  guide  us,  and  not  the  mere  defense  of  and  insistence  on 
the  right  to  use  our  liberty.  Liberty  must  never  be  used  at  the  ex- 
pense of  love.  And  close  fellowship  with  Christ  is  a  better  rule  than 
arbitrary  enactments  bearing  upon  particular  conduct.  Let  us  all 
walk  by  this  rule,  and  ''if  in  anything  ye  be  otherwise  minded," 
God  will  reveal  to  each  one  of  us  what  our  duty  is  in  every  given 
case,  whether  in  respect  of  wine-drinking,  theater-going,  card-play- 
ing, dancing,  or  any  of  those  questions  which  agitate  the  conscience 
of  the  Christian  Church  in  our  nineteenth  century,  as  meats  offered 
to  idols  agitated  the  conscience  of  the  first-century  Church. 


XLV. 

THE    RESURRECTION.— I.  Cor.  xv,    12-26. 

(12)  Now  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he  rose  from  the  dead,  how  say  some 
among  you  that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead?  (13)  But  if  there  be 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen :  (14)  And  if  Christ  be 
not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain.  (15)  Yea, 
and  we  are  found  false  witnesses  of  God ;  because  we  have  testified  of  God 
that  he  raised  up  Christ:  whom  he  raised  not  up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead 
rise  not.  (16)  For  if  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised :  (17)  And  if 
Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain ;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins.  (18)  Then 
they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  perished.  (19)  If  in  this  life 
only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable.  (20)  But 
now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  firstfruits  of  them  that 
slept.  (31)  For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.  (32)  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive.  (23)  But  every  man  in  his  own  order :  Christ  the  firstfruits ; 
afterward  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  (24)  Then  cometh  the  end, 
when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father; 
when  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all  authority  and  power.  (25) 
For  he  must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  (26)  The 
last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.— I.  Cor.  xv,  13-36. 

We  come  now  to  the  crowning  glory  of  this  great  epistle,  if  not 
to  the  crowning  glory  of  all  the  apostolic  writings,  especially  if  we 
consider  the  matter  from  the  point  of  view  of  "the  believer's  hope." 
The  resurrection,  as  has  often  been  said,  is  the  keystone  in  the  arch 
of  Christianity.  Take  that  away  and  the  whole  edifice  falls  to  the 
ground.  This  is  for  the  reason  that  Christianity  does  not  consist  in, 
nor  does  it  rest  on,  mere  doctrines  of  life,  nor  upon  a  mere  ethical 
code.  It  has  a  solid  historical  basis  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power  by  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead.  Not  only  does  his  deity  rest  for  its  demonstra- 
tion on  the  fact  of  the  resurrection ;  but  the  sufficiency  of  his  great 
sacrifice  to  take  away  sins  depends  upon  the  fact  of  his  resurrection 
for  its  guarantee ;  and  the  promise  of  life  and  immortality  is  only 
made  sure  by  the  resurrection.  Indeed,  we  may  truly  say  that  the 
entire  revelation  of  God  hangs  suspended  upon  this  fact.  The 
ancient  Scriptures  all  pointed  to  the  coming,  the  death,  and  the 
resurrection  of  Christ.  If  he  be  not  raised  from  the  dead  these 
promises  all  fall  to  the  ground,  and  the  Scriptures,  which  we  have 

364 


'^IF   CHRIST   BE   NOT   RISEN."  365 

trusted  in  as  the  Word  of  God,  are  found  to  be  false,  for  the  chief 
things  which  they  have  promised  have  failed. 

There  had  arisen  some  persons  or  a  party  in  the  church  at  Cor- 
inth who  had  denied  the  resurrection,  not  directly  of  Christ,  but  of 
believers,  and  were  spreading  this  heresy  among  the  people.  In 
order  to  correct  this  deadly  error,  the  Apostle,  having  disposed  of  the 
other  questions  submitted  to  him,  now  takes  up  this  one,  and  we 
have  to  be  thankful  that  it  was  ever  raised,  because  thereby  we  have 
gotten  this  magnificent  exposition  of  the  great  fact  of  the  triumph  of 
Christ  over  sin  and  death  by  his  resurrection,  and  consequently  the 
comfort  and  guarantee  of  our  own  hope  of  triumph  through  him. 
He  begins  his  argument  by  reminding  them  of  the  Gospel  which  he 
had  preached  to  them  at  the  beginning,  ^'  how  that  Christ  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  was  buried  and  that  he 
rose  again  the  third  day,  according  to  the  Scriptures."  This,  he  says, 
is  the  Gospel  which  he  himself  had  received,  which  he  preached,  which 
they  had  received,  in  which  they  were  standing,  and  by  which  they 
were  saved,  unless  they  had  received  in  this  Gospel  a  mere  fable, 
which  it  is  if  Christ  be  not  raised  from  the  dead.  He  proceeds  to 
back  up  the  great  historical  fact  by  producing  the  witnesses  to  it. 
(vs.  5-8.)  Having  thus  called  their  attention  to  their  faith  and  its 
foundation,  he  proceeds  now  to  take  up  the  question,  and  shows  to 
them,  first,  the  consequences  of  the  denial  of  the  resurrection ;  and 
second,  the  glorious  things  which  it  guarantees  to  believers. 

I.— "IF   CHBIST   BE  NOT  RISEN." 

The  particular  teaching  which  the  Apostle  was  called  upon  to 
refute  was  not  that  Christ  had  7iot  risen  from  the  dead,  but  that 
there  was  no  resurrection  in  store  for  believers  in  Christ.  The  fact 
of  Christ's  resurrection  was  not  denied  in  the  church  at  Corinth, 
directly,  but  the  Apostle,  in  the  very  opening  of  the  argument,  shows 
that  the  denial  of  the  resurrection  to  believers  was  the  practical 
denial  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  ''Now  if  Christ  be  preached 
that  he  rose  from  the  dead,  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead?  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen."  This  is  his  position :  that  the 
identity  of  Christ  and  all  true  believers  is  so  close  and  real,  that  if 
resurrection  is  denied  to  the  believer,  it  involves  the  denial  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  himself.  For  to  this  end  did  Christ  become 
incarnate  and  die  for  us,  and  rise  again,  that  he  might  introduce 
into  his  kingdom  a  new  race  of  redeemed  men — spirit,  soul,  and  body 


366  THE   RESURRECTION. 

— of  whom  lie  was  the  type  and ''first-fruits."  (v.  20.)  If  the  denial 
is  based  on  a  generic  impossibility,  then  it  must  apply  to  Christ  as 
well  as  to  any  other  man.  To  deny  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
on  scriptural  grounds  would  be  likewise  to  deny  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  for  the  Scriptures  are  alike  clear  in  their  teaching  both  con- 
cerning Christ  and  the  saints.  Paul  insists  both  as  to  his  doctrine 
and  his  facts,  that  Christ  and  all  true  Christians  must  stand  or  fall 
together  in  the  matter  of  the  resurrection.  If  the  glorious  promise 
of  life  and  immortality  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel  fails  in  the 
case  of  the  believer,  it  is  only  because  it  had  failed  in  the  person  of 
Christ,  in  whom  "all  the  promises  of  God  in  him  are  yea,  and  in  him 
Amen."  Having  laid  this  down  as  fundamental  to  the  argument,  he 
proceeds  to  show  what  is  necessarily  involved  in  such  a  denial  of 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  for  he  drives  straight  to  that  point,  leav- 
ing for  the  present  the  resurrection  of  the  believer  out  of  sight. 

1.  "Then  is  our  preaching  vain." — It  follows,  says  the  Apos- 
tle, that  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  the  i^reacliing  of  the  good  news  of 
forgiveness  and  life  through  Christ  is  an  empty  thing  and  a  mere 
vanity,  for  it  is  the  preaching  of  things  which  have  no  basis  in  fact, 
— the  veriest  imaginings,  which  have  no  substantial  value  in  them. 
Every  precious  thing  declared  and  proclaimed  in  the  Gospel  is  a  mere 
vanity  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  for  they  are  all  based  on  the  fact  that 
Christ  was  raised  again  from  the  dead,  as,  for  instance  :  (i)  Forgive- 
ness of  sins  (Acts  xiii,  37,  38) ;  (ii)  Justification  (Rom.  iv,  25) ;  (iii) 
Our  faith  and  hope  in  God.  (I.  Pet.  i,  21.)  The  very  power  and 
energy  of  the  Christian  life  depend  upon  the  ministration  of  strength 
from  on  high  through  the  mediation  of  Christ  risen  from  the  dead. 
(Rom.  vi,  3-G;  Heb.  xiii,  20,  21.)  We  might  greatly  enlarge  this 
list  of  blessings  which  are  fundamental  in  the  proclamation  of  the 
Gospel,  but  these  may  suffice.  Now  ?/none  of  these  can  be  fulfilled 
apart  from  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  so  must  be  given  up 
altogether,  if  Christ  be  not  risen  from  the  dead,  what  an  empty  and 
vain  thing  the  Gospel  is,  to  be  sure  ! 

2.  "  Your  faith  is  also  vain." — Not  only  is  the  preaching  empty 
vaporing  concerning  blessings  which  have  no  existence  or  foundation 
in  fact,  but  your  belief  in  them  and  acceptance  of  them  is  vain  also. 
You  have  embraced  vanities  which  do  not  exist.  The  forgiveness 
of  sins  is  a  mere  fancy  and  not  a  fact ;  the  deliverance  of  the  soul 
from  the  guilt  and  curse  of  the  law  is  a  mere  idea  without  reality ; 
any  hope  in  God  is  the  merest  delusion,  for  there  is  no  ground  for 
such  hope  if  Christ  be  not  risen  from  the  dead,  for  who  or  what  is  to 
guarantee  either  Christ's  message  or  his  work,  if  he  lies  a  victim  in 


''IF   CHRIST   BE   NOT   EISEN."  367 

the  grave  and  not  a  victor  over  it.  To  deny  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  is  to  lay  the  ax  at  the  very  root  of  the  tree  of  promise,  when, 
it  is  in  the  flower.  Every  promise  v/ithers  with  that  stroke,  and  of 
course  falls  to  the  ground  without  bringing  forth  fruit. 

3.  "  We  are  found  false  witnesses."— The  third  consequence 
of  this  denial  is  to  place  the  apostles  in  the  position  of  being  false  and 
fraudulent  men.  They  distinctly  testified  to  the  fact  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  not  as  an  ideal  theory,  not  as  an  allegory  of  some 
truth  concerning  the  survival  of  the  soul  after  death,  but  to  the  act- 
ual and  literal  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  of  Christ  from  the 
grave,  and  his  reappearance  in  this  world  after  death  in  his  entire 
and  complete  personality— body,  as  well  as  soul  and  spirit.  Christ 
was  not  a  mere  spirit  after  his  resurrection,  for  "a  spirit  hath  not 
flesh  and  bones,"  as  these  apostles  saw  and  proved  Christ  to  have. 
Here  in  the  most  positive  way  the  Apostle  declares  that  the  resur- 
rection was  an  actual  fact.  If  it  is  not,  then  he  and  the  rest  of  the 
apostles  are  perjured  witnesses,  for  they,  one  and  all,  have  testified 
to  this  effect.  They  were  men  appointed  of  God  to  bear  this  wit- 
ness, having  themselves  been  personally  cognizant  of  the  fact.  If 
it  is  not  true,  then,  as  God's  witnesses,  in  the  name  of  God,  and  in 
the  interests  of  God,  they  have  all  entered  into  a  conspiracy  of  false- 
hood on  this  point.  The  whole  tenor  of  their  lives  is  a  refutation 
of  this  supposition.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  such  men  as  Paul, 
John,  and  Peter  being  deliberate,  premeditated,  and  conscious  liars, 
devoting  themselves  with  an  unexampled  consecration  and  enthu- 
siasm, even  at  the  hazard  and  the  final  cost  of  their  lives,  to  foist  on 
the  faith  of  the  people  a  fact  which  they  knew  to  be  false.  To  be- 
lieve this  is  to  have  a  faith  in  both  human  folly  and  human  wicked- 
ness, more  difficult  to  originate  and  maintain  than  to  believe  in  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  and  all  that  is  involved  in  the  supernatural 
element  in  Christianity.  It  is  folly  to  say  that  these  apostles  only 
imagined  or  inferred  that  Christ  was  alive  from  other  events,  or  from 
the  logical  necessities  of  their  theory  of  salvation ;  for  this  they  dis- 
tinctly repudiate,  and  tell  us  that  they  saw  Christ  alive  from  the  dead 
with  their  own  eyes,  and  Jiandled  him  with  their  hands,  and  heard 
him  speak  to  them  face  to  face,  and  that  their  doctrine  and  the  en- 
tire Gospel  was  founded  on  this  fact,  and  not  the  fact  evolved  from 
their  doctrine. 

The  sixteenth  verse  at  first  seems  to  be  a  needless  repetition  of 
tlie  thirteenth ;  but  it  is  not  so.  It  is  the  restatement  of  a  proposi- 
tion in  order  to  draw  another  set  of  conclusions.  He  has  already 
sliOM^n  tliat  the  denial  of  the  resurrection  involved  the  falseness  of 


368  THE   RESUKEECTION. 

apostolic  teaching,  the  emptiness  of  the  believer's  faith,  and  the 
fraudulent  character  of  their  testimony.  Now,  from  the  same  prem- 
ises, ho  will  show  how  fatal  this  denial  is  to  the  salvation  of  be- 
lievers. 

4.  "  Your  faith  is  vain." — This  has  not  the  same  meaning  as  the 
same  expression  in  verse  fourteen.  There  it  referred  to  the  mental 
exercise  of  trusting,  here  it  refers  to  the  object  of  our  faith.  Now 
what  is  our  faith?  It  is  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins — that  is,  his 
death  expiated  our  sins,  and  brought  in  an  everlasting  righteousness. 
But  if  he  is  not  raised  again  from  the  dead,  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
his  death  was  efficient  for  the  putting  away  of  sin.  Either  he  must 
have  died  as  a  mere  man,  or  else  we  must  conclude  that  his  sacrifice 
was  not  accepted  of  God.  Death  is  the  wages  of  sin.  If  he  is  still 
holden  of  death,  it  is  because  he  is  still  in  the  power  of  it,  and  so  sin 
is  not  discharged.  If,  as  our  Substitute,  he  was  cast  into  the  prison- 
house  of  the  grave  until  the  debt  was  paid,  and  he  is  still  held  in 
custody,  it  follows  that  the  debt  is  still  unpaid  and  the  original 
debtors  are  not  yet  free.  If  Christ  be  not  raised  from  the  dead,  we 
must  give  up  all  hope  of  forgiveness,  justification,  eternal  life,  and 
a  blessed  immortality,  for  all  these  things  depend  and  hang  upon 
Christ's  ability  to  overcome  sin  and  death,  to  rise  from  the  dead,  and 
to  ascend  into  heaven  with  our  entire  nature  redeemed  and  glorified. 
'^ Because  I  live,"  said  Christ,  "ye  shall  live  also."  Now  if  he  does 
not  live,  or  is  not  alive  from  the  dead,  this  hope  falls  to  the  ground, 
for  it  is  dependent  on  his  life. 

5.  "Ye  are  yet  in  your  sins." — Who  shall  deliver  you  and  how 
have  you  been  made  free  from  sin,  if  Christ  has  not  risen?  You  may 
say,  '^He  died  for  my  sins,"  but  if  he  is  not  risen,  his  death  is  not 
accepted.  He  may  in  death  have  offered  the  price  of  your  redemp- 
tion, but  it  has  not  been  accepted,  and  therefore  your  sins  are  yet 
upon  you.  Now,  you  who  deny  the  resurrection,  place  yourself  in 
this  position,  that  while  assuming  to  rejoice  in  justification  from  sins 
you  are  in  fact  loaded  with  sin,  and  under  the  dreadful  condemnation 
of  the  law,  for  the  reason  that  your  Deliverer,  though  he  tried  to 
deliver,  has  failed  to  break  through  the  terrible  curse  of  sin  and  rise 
from  the  dead.  In  other  w^ords,  instead  of  delivering  from  sin, 
Christ  has  himself  become  hopelessly  involved  in  the  consequences 
of  it.     This  is  a  most  dreadful  thought. 

6.  "They  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  per- 
ished."— Here  is  another  consequence  of  this  denial.  Many  of  the 
Corinthian  believers  firmly  believed  in  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Christ,  and  in  the  life  and  immortality  which  they  supposed  was 


''BUT   NOW  IS   CHRIST   RISEN."  369 

brought  to  life  by  his  resuiTeetion.  How  dreadful  the  calamity  to 
them  and  to  others  who  shall  follow  them  to  death !  The  antithesis 
is  a  very  strong  one.  The  believer  has  laid  down  his  life  in  death, 
as  in  a  peaceful  sleep,  looking  for  and  expecting  a  glorious  awaken- 
ing ;  but  instead  of  this  has  gone  forth  to  perdition,  being  laden  with 
the  sins  which  he  vainly  supposed  Christ's  death  had  delivered  him 
from.  The  ''jDerishing"  here  does  not  mean  extinction,  but  simply 
banishment  from  the  j)resence  of  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  power. 
Perished  from  his  presence,  driven  forth  as  a  leper  from  heaven. 
What  an  antithesis  between  the  hope  of  the  dying  Christian  and  the 
awful  realization  of  the  delusion ;  for  if  Christ  be  not  risen  from  the 
dead,  then  is  the  Christian's  hope  a  delusion. 

7.  "We  are  of  all  men  most  m.iserable." — The  seventh  con- 
clusion from  this  denial  of  the  resuiTectiou  of  Christ  is  most  natural. 
The  supposition  is  that  these  deniers  of  the  resurrection  were  a  kind 
of  Christian  Sadducees  or  Stoics,  who  believed  that  there  was  no  life 
beyond  the  grave,  and  that  the  whole  end  of  the  Gospel  was  to  give 
people  a  hope  of  subjective  power  over  sin  in  this  world.  But  Paul 
meets  this  fairly  and  squarely,  and  says  :  ''  If  in  this  life  only  we  have 
hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable."  For  Christ's 
sake,  and  in  the  expectation  of  the  immortality  and  glory  promised 
and  guaranteed  by  the  resurrection,  we  have  forsaken  all  the  lawful 
pleasures  and  comforts  of  this  life,  given  up  ourselves  in  self-sacri- 
fice. For  the  sole  purpose  of  lifting  men  by  the  Gospel  to  the  hope 
and  possession  of  the  glorious  immortality  of  Christ  we  have  spent 
months  and  years  in  prison,  been  beaten  with  stripes,  in  hunger  and 
reproach,  and  even  exposed  to  the  arena  ;  some  of  our  brethren  have 
already  been  put  to  death,  all  of  them  more  or  less  suffering  perse- 
cutions, and  a  number  of  us  are  reserved  for  a  martyr's  death.  Is 
there  after  all  no  forgiveness,  no  justification,  no  higher  and  better 
life,  no  immortality,  no  realization  of  an  ultimate  being  with  God 
and  in  his  image  ?  Are  we  after  all  to  go  out  of  the  world  sin-ridden 
and  sin-cursed,  and  find  not  heaven  but  perdition?  Surely  if  this  is 
all,  then  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable,  and  yet  this  must  be  the 
case  if  Christ  be  not  risen. 

II.— "BUT  NOW  IS   CHRIST  RISEN." 

From  the  horrible  nightmare  of  darkness  and  despair  which  the  • 
denial  of  the  resurrection  has  bred  in  the  religious  imagination  of 
believers,  the  Apostle  turns  with  a  triumphant  and  joyous  declara- 
tion of  his  faith  and  of  the  facts  upon  which  his  faith  rests.     This 


i{70  THE   RESURRECTION. 

hope  of  immortality  tlirougli  tlie  resurrection  of  Clirist  from  the  dead, 
an  immortality  covering  our  whole  being,  he  tells  the  Corinthians, 
and  has  told  all  the  world  and  its  generations  for  two  thousand 
years,  may  be  confidently  relied  upon  for  the  life  that  now  is,  and 
that  which  is  to  come. 

1.  Clirist  is  the  first-fruits  of  them,  that  sleep. — He  is  the 
new  head  of  humanity.  As  the  priest  of  old  just  before  the  great 
feast  of  harvest  gathered  a  handful  of  corn,  "a  sheaf,"  and  laid  it 
up  before  the  Lord  in  the  tabernacle,  and  so  thanked  God  for  the 
harvest  of  which  that  wave  sheaf  was  the  pledge,  so  Christ  as  the 
"first-fruits"  of  his  people  is  already  gone  up  on  high  as  the  pledge 
and  guarantee  of  the  whole  resurrection  harvest. 

2.  Concerning  Adam  and  Christ, — The  human  family  has 
had  two  heads.  The  first  was  Adam,  who,  thi'ough  sin,  brought  in 
death.  As  we  are  related  to  him  by  nature,  we  inherit  that  which 
he  has  wrought.  We  have  seen  in  the  fact  that  death  has  passed 
upon  all  the  descendants  of  Adam  this  close  connection.  "  In  Adam 
all  die."  But  in  God's  infinite  mercy  he  has  set  a  new  head  over  this 
death-doomed  race.  One  who  first  demonstrated  righteousness  and 
won  life  from  the  curse,  and  by  death  expiated  the  sin  that  brought 
about  death,  and  by  resurrection  triumphed  over  both  sin  and  death ; 
and  now,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  has  become  the  starting-point 
and  hope  for  all  men.  We  are  related  to  Adam  by  nature;  we  come 
into  union  with  Christ  \)j  faith.  In  him  we  have  accepted  the  death 
due  to  our  sins,  and  in  him  we  have  been  invested  with  the  life  due 
to  his  righteousness ;  and  so  shall  live  wdth  him  in  his  resurrection 
glory.  This  is  the  constant  doctrine  of  Paul  and  of  all  the  apostles. 
''For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death, 
we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection."  For  "if  the 
Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  ho 
that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal 
bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you."  (Rom.  vi,  5;  viii,  11.) 
The  qualifying  "  all "  in  this  verse  refers  to  believers  only,  as  it  is  to 
believers  that  he  is  now  writing.  All  died  in  Adam,  including  be- 
lievers, and  all  believers  shall  rise  in  Christ.  Later  on,  the  Apostle 
also  hints  at  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked  dead,  but  does  not  dis- 
cuss their  standing  in  this  connection,  because  he  is  not  dealing  with 
that  question. 

3.  The  order  of  events  in  the  resurrection. — The  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead  will  be  in  "ranks"  or  "cohorts."  "Every  man  in 
his  own  order."  (i)  Christ  the  "first-fruits."  He  is  first  in  tlie 
order,  or  the  first  rank.     Standing  by  himself  as  the  bringer  in  of 


''BUT    NOW  IS   CHRIST    RISEN."  371 

life  ;  making  demonstration  of  it  in  liis  own  person ;  and  as  we  have 
again  and  again  pointed  out,  making  it  sure  to  them  who  are  in  him. 
The  time  between  the  gathering  of  this  "first-fruits  "  and  the  reaping 
of  the  whole  harvest  is  an  indefinite  one,  for  the  whole  harvest  is 
not  yet  ripened  for  the  resiu'rectiou.  The  dead  in  Christ  are  safe  in 
his  guarantee  (their  spirits  meantime  being  with  him  ''in  paradise,'^ 
(Luke  xxiii,  43;  II.  Cor.  xii,  4;  with  Phil,  i,  23;  II.  Cor.  v,  6.)  (ii) 
"Afterward  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming."  The  next  event 
in  the  order  of  resurrection  will  be  the  resurrection  of  the  sleeping 
saints,  when  "  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God : 
and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first."  (I.  Thess.  iv,  16.)  How 
this  is  accomplished  Paul  shows  in  a  later  part  of  this  chapter, 
answering  the  argument  on  which  these  deniers  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  depend,  (vs.  17,  18.)  (iii)  "Then  cometh  the  end." 
After  the  saints  have  all  been  gathered  in,  and  safely  housed  in 
heaven,  the  final  scene  in  the  great  tragedy  of  human  life  and  re- 
demption will  take  j)lace.  The  Apostle  does  not  go  into  detail  here, 
but  he  evidently  refers  to  the  great  judgment  which  will  take  place 
after  the  millennium,  when  "the  rest  of  the  dead"  shall  be  raised 
(the  wicked  dead)  and  cast  out  from  the  presence  of  God.  (Rev.  xx, 
with  context.)  Here  John  points  out  the  difference  between  the 
first  and  the  second  resurrections,  and  the  period  of  time  interven- 
ing between  the  rising  of  these  two  cohorts. 

4.  The  mediatorial  reign  of  Christ. — In  this  connection  the 
Apostle  points  out  that  in  the  mean  time,  till  the  end  come  (after  the 
raising  of  the  holy  dead),  Christ  must  still  reign,  till  all  the  powers 
of  sin  and  death  are  thoroughly  put  down  and  cast  out.  (Rev.  xx, 
11-15.)  When  this  is  done  Christ,  the  great  Mediator,  into  whose 
hands  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  hath  been  given,  will  resign  the 
kingdom  and  the  power  into  the  Father's  hand,  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived it,  and  God  the  Father  will  reign  over  all.  Just  what  this 
great  change  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  God's  moral  uni- 
verse imports,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  does  not  mean  any  humili- 
ation of  Christ,  but  rather,  I  fancy,  that  Christ  takes  his  place  as 
the  Head  of  the  Redeemed  Race,  and  with  them  rules  and  reigns 
under  the  Father  in  glory,  though  now  no  longer  in  mediation. 
The  twenty-first  and  twenty-second  chapters  of  Revelation  give  us 
glimpses  of  this. 

5.  The  last  enemy. — Death  is  the  last  enemy  to  be  put  down. 
This  is  the  final  overthrow  of  the  power  of  sin,  so  far  as  God's  people 
are  concerned.     So  long  as  death  reigns  over  any  one  of  them,  the 


372  THE   RESURRECTION. 

work  of  Christ  is  not  done,  and  the  work  of  the  devil  is  not  de- 
stroyed. But  when  the  last  of  the  dead  in  Christ  have  been  raised 
up,  and  seated  in  glory  with  him,  then  the  final  deliverance  will  have 
been  wrought,  and  sin  will  have  been  vanquished  forever.  If  the 
resurrection  is  a  fable  and  a  fiction,  then  all  these  things  which 
enter  into  the  hope  of  the  believer  are  fictions  and  vanities  also,  and 
we  are  indeed  of  all  men  most  miserable  ! 


XLVI. 

THE   GRACE   OF    LIBERALITY.— II.  Cor.  viii,  1-12. 

(1)  Moreover,  bretliren,  we  do  you  to  wit  of  the  grace  of  God  bestowed 
on  the  churches  of  Macedonia;  (3)  How  that  in  a  great  trial  of  affliction, 
the  abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches 
of  their  liberality.  (3)  For  to  their  power,  I  bear  record,  yea,  and  beyond 
their  power  they  were  willing  of  themselves;  (4)  Praying  us  with  much 
entreaty  that  we  would  receive  the  gift,  and  take  upon  us  the  fellowship  of 
the  ministering  to  the  saints.  (5)  And  this  they  did,  not  as  we  hoped,  but 
first  gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord,  and  unto  us  by  the  will  of  God.  (6) 
Insomuch  that  we  desired  Titus,  that  as  he  had  begun,  so  he  would  also 
finish  in  you  the  same  grace  also.  (7)  Therefore,  as  ye  abound  in  every 
thing,  in  faith,  and  utterance,  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  diligence,  and  in 
your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also.  (8)  I  speak  not  by 
commandment,  but  by  occasion  of  the  forwardness  of  others,  and  to  prove 
the  sincerity  of  your  love.  (9)  For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that,  though  he  M^as  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor,  that 
ye  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich.  (10)  And  herein  I  give  my  advice : 
for  this  is  expedient  for  you,  who  have  begun  before,  not  onlj^  to  do,  but 
also  to  be  forward  a  year  ago.  (11)  Now  therefore  perform  the  doing  of  it ; 
that  as  there  was  a  readiness  to  will,  so  there  may  be  a  performance  also 
out  of  that  which  ye  have.  (12)  For  if  there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is 
accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath 
not.— II.  Cor.  viii,  1-13. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  a  faithful,  tender,  and  loving 
communication  clearing  up  a  great  scandal  which  had  for  a  long  time 
been  agitating  the  Corinthian  church,  and  had  been  the  subject  of  a 
previous  sharp  letter  from  the  Apostle,  which  had  been  the  means 
of  setting  things  right  in  the  church.  This  fact,  and  all  the  struggle 
connected  with  it,  had  contributed  much  to  their  spiritual  edifica- 
tion, and  greatly  drawn  out  the  Ajjostle's  love  and  confidence  toward 
them  in  this  and  all  things.  There  was  now  another  matter  which 
he  wished  very  much  to  have  them  set  right,  and  which,  as  the 
matter  then  stood,  was  in  some  sort  another  scandal,  though  not  so 
glaring  a  one  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  A  year  before  there  had  been 
an  appeal  made  to  all  the  Gentile  churches  to  make  a  contribution 
toward  the  necessities  of  the  poor  Christians  in  Judea,  who  had  been 
suffering  great  persecution  and  were  at  that  time  in  deep  poverty. 
This  church  had  at  first  taken  the  matter  up  with  great  spirit,  in  so 
far  as  the  declaration  of  their  readiness  to  respond  to  the  Apostle's 

373 


374  THE   GRACE   OF   LIBERALITY. 

appeal  was  concerned ;  but  they  had  lagged  behind  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  liberality,  and  the  collection  was  still  unfinished  after 
a  year.  This  was  all  the  more  unworthy  of  them  because  they  were 
a  comparatively  rich  church,  and  could  give  without  impoverishing 
themselves.  Having  responded  to  his  admonitions  in  the  graver 
matter  which  he  mentions  in  his  last  topic,  he  had  good  hope  that 
they  would  now  set  this  other  matter  right. 

I.— THE   GRACE   OF   GIVING. 

As  human  society  is  at  present  constituted,  as  the  providence  of 
God  is  at  present  administered,  and  as  long  as  the  improvidence  of 
man  is  a  factor  in  the  social  relations  of  the  world,  and  especially  in 
the  fellowship  of  the  chm"ch,  there  must  always  remain  a  necessity 
for  the  Avell-to-do  to  share  a  portion  of  their  surplus  with  the  un- 
fortunate and  improvident.  Benevolence  and  beneficence  is  a  theme 
constantly  dwelt  upon  in  the  Scriptures.  To  give  a  portion  to  them 
who  have  nothing  is  laid  down  as  a  duty  before  we  may  rightfully 
enjoy  feasting  on  our  own  abundance.  The  poor,  our  Master  told  us, 
we  always  have  with  us,  and  it  is  our  privilege  to  help  them  when- 
soever we  will.  We  are  bidden  to  work  with  our  hands,  that  we 
''may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth,"  as  though  God's  thought 
was  not  that  his  people  should  hoard  their  surplus  money,  but  'ase 
it  in  benevolence. 

II.— THE  GRACE  OF  GOD,  TO  WIT : 

The  Apostle  distinctly  speaks  of  giving  money  to  help  and  succor 
the  poor,  as  a  grace.  "We  do  you  to  wit  of  the  grace  of  God  bo- 
stowed  on  the  churches  of  Macedonia." 

1.  As  a  movement  in  the  human  heart  emanating  from 
God. — The  love  of  money,  or  covetousness,  is  natural  to  the  human 
heart,  and  is  not  readily  overcome  by  the  natural  man.  To  root  up 
this  sin  and  plant  in  its  place  the  beautiful  flower  of  beneficence, 
the  grace  of  God  is  necessary.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  giving  in  this 
world  which  is  only  a  form  of  selfishness,  as  our  Lord  has  clearly 
taught  us  in  connection  with  what  he  says  of  loving  those  who  love 
us,  giving  to  those  who  give  to  us,  doing  good  to  those  who  do  good 
to  us,  etc.  (Luke  vi,  32-34.)  But  to  give  to  those  who  have  need, 
because  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  without  hope  of  return, 
is  a  pure  grace  from  God. 

2.  As  it  does  not  take  into  account  the  unworthiness  of  its 


THE   LIBERALITY   OF    THE   MACEDONIANS.  375 

object. — In  the  passage  just  quoted  our  Master  tells  us  to  he  merci- 
ful, and  not  strictly  just.  Grace  and  mercy  are  dispositions  which 
in  a  peculiar  way  consider  only  the  need  of  their  object,  and  not 
their  merit.  If  we  never  gave  except  to  those  who  were  strictly 
meritorious,  our  charities  would  be  very  limited.  What  would  we 
do  if  God's  saving  gifts  were  confined  to  the  meritorious?  Surely 
you  and  I  would  never  be  saved !  Grace  is  unmerited  favor,  and  not 
the  reward  of  merit.  Therefore  true  benevolence  is  grace,  springing 
from  a  motive  of  love  in  the  giver,  and  not  from  a  consideration  of 
the  abstract  claims  of  the  object. 

3.  As  it  is  a  benefit  to  those  who  give,  as  well  as  to  those 
who  receive. — The  grace  of  God  flows  out  through  our  beneficence 
to  those  who  receive  our  benefactions,  but  not  less  to  us  who  bestow 
them.  ''It  is"  (even)  ''more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  So 
that  when  the  Apostle  spoke  of  the  "grace  of  God  bestowed  on  the 
churches  of  Macedonia,"  he  not  only  alluded  to  their  generous  gifts 
to  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem,  but  the  spiritual  riches  which  had 
come  to  them  from  God,  both  as  an  inspiration  and  a  residuum. 
"  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth ;  and  there  is  that 
withholdeth  .  .  .  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  Many  a  rich  man  is 
miserably  poor  because  he  witliholds  his  hand  from  giving. 

4. — As  it  is  such  a  beautiful  grace. — Nothing  is  more  Godlike 
than  to  give  to  those  who  have  need.  That  which  has  charmed  and 
fascinated  the  ages  with  Jesus  is  that  his  whole  life  was  one  of  self- 
sacrifice  for  others.  He  came  not  to  be  ministered  to  but  to  min- 
ister. A  very  poor  little  child  was  once  so  overwhelmed  with  the 
unsolicited  kindness  of  a  lady,  who,  ha\'ing  heard  of  the  sickness  and 
destitution  of  their  household,  sought  them  out,  and  loaded  them  with 
benefits,  that  she  looked  up  into  her  face  with  an  amazed  expression 
and  said  :  " Please,  ma'am,  are  you  God's  wife?  "  In  this  sense  every 
Christian  should  be  the  bride  of  Christ. 

III.— THE  LIBERALITY   OF   THE  MACEDONIANS. 

Having  spoken  of  the  Macedonian  churches,  namely,  those  of 
Thessalonica,  Berea,  and  Philippi,  he  proceeds  to  give  in  detail  some 
account  of  what  they  had  done,  and  how  they  had  done  it,  and  thus 
seeks  to  stir  up  the  Corinthians  to  a  similar  spirit  of  generous  Christian 
liberality  and  benevolence.  Paul  displays  much  tact,  as  he  always 
does,  in  the  handling  of  this  subject,  and  demonstrates  the  lawfulness 
of  seeking  by  emulation  to  inspire  unto  good  works.  Concerning  the 
beneficence  of  the  Macedonians  he  points  out  the  following  facts  : 


37G  THE   GRACE   OF   LIBERALITY. 

1.  It  was  abundant. — "It  abounded  unto  riclies."  Perhaps 
the  combined  gifts  of  the  three  churches  in  Macedonia  would  not 
amount  to  more  than  a  moderate  collection  which  might  be  taken 
from  the  one  church  at  Corinth ;  but  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  given  made  it  the  very  riches  of  liberality.  In  the  first  place 
the  Macedonians  had,  through  persecution,  suffered  great  loss  in 
property  and  possessions.  Like  the  chm-ches  in  Judea,  their  loyalty 
to  Christ  had  cost  them  their  worldly  possessions.  Nevertheless 
they  gave.  The  Apostle  speaks  of  ''a  great  trial  of  aflQiction,"  and 
'Hheir  deep  poverty."  In  such  circumstances  most  churches  and 
men  would  hold  themselves  excused  from  making  contributions ; 
many  w^ould  rather  plead  that  they  themselves  needed  help  from 
others.  But  here  was  an  exhibition  of  "the  grace  of  God  bestowed 
on  these  churches,"  that  their  joy  in  God  was  so  great,  'Hhe  abun- 
dance of  their  joy  "led  them,  even  out  of  '"^  their  deep  poverty,"  to 
abound* "  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality."  That  is,  their  gifts  were 
not  only  astonishingly  large,  considering  their  circumstances,  but 
were  given  with  such  hearty  simplicity  and  unaffected  love  and  glad- 
ness, that  the  casket,  so  to  speak,  in  which  they  presented  their  gift 
was  worth  more  than  the  gift  itself.  There  are  those  who  out  of 
great  wealth  give  a  small  amount  grudgingly  and  with  a  sour  spirit, 
but  these  out  of  deep  poverty  gave  liberally  with  a  gladness  and 
cheerfulness  that  made  their  gift  doubly  valuable. 

2.  It  was  according  to  ability. — Nay,  in  their  case  it  even 
went  beyond  all  law^ful  or  reasonable  expectation.  '^For  to  their 
power,  .  .  .  yea,  and  beyond  their  power,"  they  gave.  Like  the 
widow  who  gave  her  two  mites,  they  gave  beyond  their  ability  to  give. 
The  widow  would  have  been  a  great  giver  if  she  had  given  but  one 
of  her  two  mites,  but  she  went  beyond  ^^her  power"  when  she  put 
them  both  in  the  treasury,  even  to  the  extent  of  her  ''whole  living." 
Something  like  this  spirit  animated  these  Macedonians.  There  is 
another  thought  here.  "  They  were  willing  of  themselves."  It  Vv^as 
spontaneous  on  their  part.  They  did  not  have  to  be  urged  to  give. 
As  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  suffering  and  need  of  the  Judean 
Christians,  they  volunteered  their  benevolence.  Perhaps  their  own 
afflictions  and  their  own  poverty  made  them  more  keenly  alive  to 
the  need  of  others.  As  a  rule  those  who  have  suffered  need  them- 
selves are  more  ready  to  succor  the  needy  than  those  who  have 
never  known  want.  As  a  rule,  also,  the  poor  are  much  more  liberal 
in  gifts  than  the  rich.  Riches  breeds  indulgence,  and  self-indul- 
gence in  turn  breeds  selfishness. 

3.  It  was  urgent  and  loving.— In  further  illustration  of  this, 


THE   LIBERALITY   OF   THE   MACEDONIANS.  377 

the  Apostle  tells  the  Corinthians  that  instead  of  waiting  to  Toe  im- 
portuned, they  prayed  '^  us  with  much  entreaty  that  we  would  re- 
ceive the  giftj  and  take  upon  us  the  fellowship  of  the  ministering  to 
the  saints."  So  great  was  their  liberality  that  the  apostles  were  at 
first  reluctant  to  take  it,  knowing  how  poor  they  were  ;  but  so  great 
was  their  love  and  sympathy  for  their  poor  brethren,  poorer  perhaps 
than  themselves,  at  least  their  love  suggested  this,  that  with  urgent 
entreaty  they  persuaded  Paul  and  his  companions  to  receive  and 
distribute  their  gifts.  It  is  possible  that  the  reluctance  of  the 
Apostle  was  owing  somewhat  to  a  hesitancy  to  have  this  money 
trust,  lest  some  might  take  advantage  of  it  and  accuse  him  of  receiv- 
ing and  ap]3ropriating  it  to  himself.  There  were  those  who  had 
accused  the  Apostle  of  making  money  out  of  his  ministry,  as  in  all 
ages  malicious  people  have  taken  delight  in  making  similar  charges 
against  less  worthy  and  unselfish  ministers. 

4.  Their  liberality  sprung  from  their  consecration. — '^  They 
first  gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord."  Paul  had  hoped  to  get 
something  from  tliem,  but  he  was  astonished  and  delighted  to  see 
how  deeply  and  truly  they  appreciated  their  relation  to  God  and  to 
the  brethren,  in  respect  of  the  whole  matter.  Naturally  they  might 
have  held  back  from  giving  in  their  circumstances ;  and  they  real- 
ized that  if  they  gave  at  all  they  must  do  it  as  unto  the  Lord.  Con- 
secrated as  they  already  were,  they  made  a  fresh  consecration  of 
their  own  selves,  which  carried  with  it  all  their  possessions.  In 
this  spirit,  to  give  to  the  poor  saints  was  the  same  thing  as  giving 
to  the  Lord  himself ;  and  what  would  they  not  give  to  him  who  had 
died  for  them,  giving  himself  for  their  salvation.  Like  the  lad  with 
the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fishes,  they  first  brought  what  they  had 
to  give  to  the  Lord  for  his  blessing,  and  the  basket  in  which  they 
brought  their  little  supply  was  their  own  selves.  Here  is  the  true 
secret  of  liberality,  and  here  is  the  high  power  of  small  gifts,  made 
large  in  the  hands  of  him  who  can  multiply  all  gifts  by  dividing 
them.  Thus  giving,  a  little  becomes  much.  Thus  giving,  no  one 
need  be  slack  in  giving  a  little,  because  they  cannot  give  much. 

5.  Their  benevolence  stirred  up  hope  for  others. — When 
Paul  saw  this  noble  generosity  on  the  part  of  these  poor  Macedo- 
nians, it  filled  him  with  hope  that  the  rich  Corinthians  might  be 
animated  by  the  same  spirit,  and  that  would  lead  to  a  large  supply 
for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.  When  we  see  great  grace  in  one 
Christian,  it  inspires  us  with  hope  that  we  may  look  for  it  in  another. 
So  Paul,  Avho  had  begun  to  despair  of  the  collection  which  had  so 
long  '^lung  fire  "  in  Corinth,  now  began  to  hope  that  it  might  at  last 


378  THE   GRACE   OF  LIBERALITY. 

be  forthcoming.  Acting  upon  this  new-born  hope  or  this  hope  re- 
vived, he  at  once  determined,  to  send  Titus  back  to  Corinth  to  make 
a  further  effort  there.  Every  one  of  us  lives  not  only  in  ourself  but 
also  in  our  example,  either  for  good  or  for  evil.  In  that  their  exam- 
ple stimulated  others  to  give,  the  Macedonians  increased  their  own 
gifts.  Thus  out  of  their  deep  poverty  the  riches  of  their  liberality 
abounded. 

IV.— AN  URGENT  APPEAL. 

The  sensitiveness  of  the  Apostle  had  led  him  to  drop  the  matter 
of  the  collection  from  the  church  at  Corinth ;  for  he  had  undertaken 
this  help  for  his  countrymen  without  ex]3ress  commandment  from 
God,  and  he  naturally  hesitated  to  urge  an  unwilling  gift  from  the 
Corinthians ;  but  the  unexpected  liberality,  together  with  the  great 
joy  manifested  by  these  other  Gentiles,  encouraged  him  to  hope  for 
the  same  spirit  in  the  Corinthians,  so  that,  turning  again  to  them,  he 
made  an  urgent  appeal. 

1.  *'This  grace  also." — The  Apostle's  appeal  had  more  in  it 
than  a  plea  for  money.  He  saw  in  this  collection  which  he  was  now 
urging  an  opportunity  of  developing  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Corin- 
thian church  and  rounding  them  out  in  a  direction  that  they  greatly 
needed.  The  church  at  Corinth  was  not  only  a  wealthy  church  in 
the  matter  of  money,  but  it  was  rich  in  many  other  ways.  Its  mem- 
bers seem  to  have  been  of  more  than  average  ability  by  nature,  and 
God  had  bestowed  upon  them  rich  spiritual  gifts.  The  Apostle  ap- 
peals to  this  fact,  and  delicately  complim.ents  them  on  their  many 
good  gifts  and  possessions,  and  thereby  urges  them  to  an  equaliza- 
tion of  their  gifts  by  bringing  up  one  which  was  lagging  behind. 
The  Corinthians  were  rich  in  faitli.  They  had  grasped  the  great 
facts  of  the  Gospel,  and  they  heartily  stood  in  this  faith.  They  had 
many  among  them  who  were  gifted  as  spealcers.  Nor  were  any  of 
them  backward  in  "utterance."  They  did  not  hide  their  light  under 
a  bushel,  but  let  it  shine  out,  at  least  as  far  as  an  outspoken  testi- 
mony to  the  power  of  the  Gospel  was  concerned.  They  had  knoid- 
\eclfjc ;  having  been  well  instructed  by  both  Paul  and  the  eloquent 
^Apollos,  who  was  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  they  had  improved 
their  opportunities  in  this  respect.  Nor  were  they  lacking  in  dili- 
gence. They  were  an  active  and  aggressive  church,  spreading  the 
faith  of  the  Gospel  and  lengthening  the  cords  of  their  tent,  and 
strengthening  its  stakes.  They  were  not  slack  in  the  expression 
and  manifestation  of  their  love  for  their  ministers,  Paul,  though  he 
would  not  receive  money  from  them,  had  experienced  great  kindness 


AN   UEGENT  APPEAL.  379 

at  tlieir  hands,  and  so  no  doubt  liad  other  ministers  of  theirs,  both 
of  their  own  number  and  those  who  had  visited  them  from  abroad. 
There  was,  however,  this  one  thing  that  they  lacked.  They  were 
not  generous  and  ready  with  their  money  in  matters  of  benevolence. 
Now,  says  the  Apostle,  '^  See  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also."  It 
would  be  a  pity  that  so  grand  a  church  should  be  marred  by  mean- 
ness in  this  respect.  Their  illiberality  was  the  fly  in  the  ointment ; 
the  spot  and  blemish  on  their  beauty ;  the  point  of  weakness  in  their 
general  strength.  How  often  a  fine  character  is  marred  by  one 
grave  and  glaring  fault.  Paul's  plea  was  for  themselves  as  much  as 
for  the  poor  saints.  As  it  was  with  him  and  the  Philippians,  he 
desired  fruit  that  might  abound  to  their  account,  as  well  as  that 
good  accrue  to  the  Jerusalem  saints.     (Phil,  iv,  17.) 

2.  Benevolence  a  test  of  sincerity. — ''To  prove  the  sincerity 
of  your  love."  A  year  ago  when  the  matter  was  first  presented  to 
them,  they  professed  to  be  greatly  interested  in  the  poor  saints,  and 
declared  their  love  for  them  ;  but  they  had  not  acted.  The  Apostle 
now  reminds  them  of  a  principle  which  James  beautifully  puts  in 
his  epistle  :  ''If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked,  and  destitute  of  daily 
food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them,  Depart  in  peace,  bo  ye  warmed 
and  filled ;  notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not  those  things  which  are 
needful  to  the  body ;  what  doth  it  profit?  "  (James  ii,  15,  16.)  John 
puts  the  same  truth  in  other  words  :  "But  whoso  hath  this  world's 
good,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels 
of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?" 
(I.  John  iii,  17.)  "You  have  professed  to  be  full  of  pity  and  com- 
passion for  the  suffering  saints  in  Jerusalem,  but  as  yet  you  have 
done  nothing  to  relieve  their  distress ;  is  not  the  sincerity  of  your 
love  impeached?"  He  does  not  urge  that  he  has  a  command  from 
God  in  this  matter,  but  he  reminds  them  of  the  spontaneous  gen- 
erosity of  others,  and  with  a  view  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  their  pro- 
fessions of  love.  He  does  not  actually  doubt  it,  but  they  are  through 
neglect  in  danger  of  bringing  this  reproach  upon  themselves,  and  he 
would  save  them  from  such  a  shame. 

3.  The  divine  example. — He  further  stimulates  them  by  an 
appeal  to  what  they  knew  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who,  "though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his 
poverty  might  be  rich."  This  is  so  beautiful  a  statement  of  a  fact 
patent  to  every  Christian,  that  any  word  looking  toward  illustrating 
or  explaining  it  would  only  mar  it.  Who  does  not  know  how  the 
Lord  laid  aside  all  the  wealth  of  his  glory  and  sunk  himself  into  the 
poverty  of  our  sin  and  WTetchedness  in  order  that  we  might  in  the 


380  THE   GRACE   OF   LIBERALITY. 

end  share  in  liis  glorious  riches  ;  in  the  mean  time  bestowing  upon 
us  all  the  present  riches  of  salvation.  Let  Christ's  example  in  this 
resi^ect  be  your  inspiration  and  guide. 

4.  A  bit  of  advice. — Paul  had  before  (v.  8)  distinctly  declared 
that  he  did  not  press  this  charity  upon  them  as  a  matter  of  com- 
mandment, but  one  of  love  and  Christian  fellowship,  and  as  a  means 
of  proving  their  sincerity.  He  returns  to  the  same  position  now  after 
the  digression  in  verse  nine  and  gives  them  a  bit  of  advice,  which  he 
certainly  was  entitled  to  do.  It  was  good  advice  for  them,  and  they 
w^ould  do  well,  considering  all  things,  to  follow  it,  both  for  the  love 
of  Christ  and  for  the  sake  of  their  own  consistency  of  character  and. 
profession.  This  is  the  word  of  advice.  A  year  ago  they  had  ex- 
pressed a  willingness  to  take  this  matter  up,  and  had  indeed  begun 
to  gather  some  money ;  but  for  some  cause,  in  the  mean  time,  they 
had  let  the  matter  drop,  and  nothing  had  been  done  or  was  even  now 
heing  done.  This  was  both  wT.'ong  and  unworthy  of  them.  He  there- 
fore recommends  them  (i)  to  promptly  perform  the  doing  of  the 
thing  they  had  set  their  hands  to  do,  all  the  more  because  (ii)  they 
had  expressed  their  readiness  to  do  it.  Had  they  at  the  outset  de- 
clared their  disinclination  to  help  the  saints  at  Jerusalem,  we  may 
be  sure  that  without  commandment  Paul  would  not  have  now  pressed 
them  or  ever  spoken  to  them  about  it  again ;  but  inasmuch  as  they 
had  been  forward  to  undertake  it,  he  recommends  that  their  perform- 
ance be  equal  to  their  promise. 

5.  The  true  measure  of  liberality. — In  urging  them  to  benefi- 
cence, Paul  states  the  principle  on  which  it  should  be  regulated  and 
by  which  God  accepted  it.  It  is  not  so  much  the  amount  which  one 
gives  that  indicates  benevolence,  as  the  amount  in  proportion  to 
what  one  has  to  give,  (i)  One  should  never  give  or  promise  to  give 
what  one  has  not  to  give.  Sometimes  under  an  impulse  Christians 
promise  to  give  more  than  they  are  able  to  pay,  or  give,  as  it  were, 
what  they  have  not.  Paul  says  that  giving  must  be  '^out  of  that 
which  ye  have."  (ii)  He  lays  down  this  proposition  :  "For  if  there 
be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath, 
and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not."  It  will  be  seen  here  that 
the  first  essential  to  benevolence  is  {a)  a  willing  mind.  '^  God  loveth 
a  cheerful  giver,"  and  he  does  not  love  or  accept  a  grudging  gift,  or 
one  that  comes  out  of  a  man's  hand  by  constraint,  and  not  of  free 
will.  Sometimes  money  is  squeezed  out  of  men,  or  given  under 
pressure,  which  spoils  the  whole  gift  and  renders  it  a  service  of  no 
grace  either  to  the  recipient  or  to  the  giver.  Such  gifts  are  void  in 
heaven,     (h)  It  is  essential  that  a  gift  be  accepted  before  it  is  com- 


AN   URGENT   APPEAL.  381 

pleted.  Now  our  gifts  may  be  accepted  of  men  while  they  are  re- 
jected of  God.  A  good  deal  of  grudged  money  finds  its  way  into  the 
church's  treasury  and  the  poor  fund;  a  good  deal  of  dirty  money 
finds  its  way  there  likewise ;  it  is  used  for  church  purposes  and  for 
charity,  but  it  is  never  accepted  of  God.  If  we  would  only  remem- 
ber that  our  gifts  to  men  or  religion  are  graces  according  as  God  ac- 
cepts them,  and  not  according  as  the  newspaper  records  them,  it 
might  effect  a  good  deal  of  beneficence.  Then,  should  we  always 
remember  that  God  looks  not  at  the  amoimt  given,  but  at  the  spirit 
in  which  it  is  given  and  to  the  proportion  according  to  ability,  a 
false  pride  would  not  keep  some  of  God's  people  from  making  small 
gifts  out  of  such  as  they  have.  God  does  not  ask  for  what  we  have 
not.     Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  abound  in  this  grace  also. 


XLVII. 

IMITATION    OF   CHRIST.— Ephesians  iv,  20-32. 

(20)  But  ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ ;  (21)  If  so  be  that  ye  have  heard 
him,  and  have  been  taught  by  him,  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus:  (22)  That  ye 
put  oflf  concerning  the  former  conversation  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt 
according  to  the  deceitful  lusts ;  (23)  And  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your 
mind ;  (24)  And  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness.  (25)  Wherefore  putting  away  lying,  speak 
every  man  truth  with  his  neighbour:  for  we  are  members  one  of  another. 

(26)  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not :  let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath : 

(27)  Neither  give  place  to  the  devil.  (28)  Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more : 
but  rather  let  him  labour,  working  with  his  hands  the  thing  which  is  good, 
that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth.  (29)  Let  no  corrupt  commu- 
nication proceed  out  of  your  mouth,  but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use  of 
edifying,  that  it  may  minister  grace  unto  the  hearers.  (30)  And  grieve  not 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption. 
(31)  Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil  speak- 
ing, be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice :  (32)  And  be  ye  kind  one  to  an- 
other, tenderhearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake 
hath  forgiven  you.— Ephesians  iv,  20-32. 

The  Epistle  to  tlie  Epliesians  is  written  on  a  high  key.  There  is 
an  exaltation  of  doctrinal  statement,  an  implication  of  high  Christian 
experience  in  this  letter  found  in  no  other  of  the  epistles  of  Paul. 
If  the  city  of  Ephesus  had  sunk  lower  than  other  Greek  cities  by 
reason  of  the  grossness  of  her  superstitions  and  the  degradation  of 
the  moral  life  gendered  by  the  worship  of  the  great  Diana,  then  the 
Christian  faith  and  life  had  in  a  sense  to  be  raised  higher  than  in 
other  cities,  that  the  difference  between  Christ  and  Diana  might  be 
more  apparent  in  the  different  lives  of  the  idolaters  and  the  Chris- 
tians. Here  the  Christian  calling  is  majestically  set  forth.  In  Christ 
the  believer  has  ^'redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace  "  ;  in  him  we  are  ^'  chosen," 
'^ predestinated,"  "accepted,"  having  "obtained  an  inheritance," 
"  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and  "made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ,"  "far  above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might, 
and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world, 
but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come,"  where  Christ  has  been  exalted 
already  through  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  It  follows  natu- 
rally that  the  earthly  life  of  the  believer  must  be  in  accordance  with 

382 


CHRIST,  THE   CHRISTIAN'S   LESSON.  383 

this  liigh  calling.  The  life  of  the  Gentile  is  described  in  verses 
seventeen,  eighteen,  and  nineteen,  immediately  preceding  the  por- 
tion selected  for  our  study.  Their  walk  is  in  the  vanity  of  the  mind, 
with  their  understandings  .darkened,  their  lives  alienated  from  God 
through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blindness  or 
hardness  of  their  hearts.  All  this  had  come  upon  them  through  de- 
liberately turning  away  from  such  light  as  they  had,  and  as  deliber- 
ately shutting  their  eyes  to  the  truth,  which  they  held  in  unright- 
eousness. Being  past  feeling,  they  had  given  themselves  over  to 
lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with  greediness.  This  life 
was  the  practical  outcome  of  heathenism.  In  contrast  with  such  a 
state  of  mind,  and  such  an  outward  walk,  the  Apostle  sets  Christ 
before  his  disciples  and  shows  them  what  is  the  true  logic  of  faith  in 
him. 

I.— CHUIST,  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LESSON. 

"But  ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ."  That  is,  your  knowledge 
of  Christ  does  not  lead  up  (or  down)  to  such  a  life  as  that.  The 
first  thought  we  have  in  this  passage  is  that  Christ  is  the  Christian's 
lesson,  and  following  that  is  the  corollary :  that  Christ  is  the  Chris- 
tian's walk.  Christian  life  consists  in  first  learning  and  then  doing 
the  thing  we  have  learned.  There  is  no  doctrine  in  Christianity  that 
must  not  in  some  way  be  translated  into  life.  Christ  is  the  source 
of  life,  and  he  becomes  the  substance  of  it.  The  life  that  we  now 
live,  we  ''live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God."  And  then  it  follows 
that  ''for  me  to  live  is  Christ." 

Learning  Christ. — This  statement  does  not  mean  that  we  have 
learned  a  lesson  in  doctrines  or  ethics  being  taught  by  Christ,  but 
that  Christ  himself  is  the  lesson  which  believers  learn;  just  as 
the  apostles  did  not  preach  about  Christ,  but  preached  Christ  him- 
self. It  is  not,  "ye  have  not  so  learned  0/ Christ,"  though  that  also 
is  true.  It  might  give  a  truer  idea  to  say  that  "ye  have  not  so 
absorbed  Christ,"  or  taken  Christ  into  your  life,  as  to  become  one 
with  him.  The  term  Christ  in  this  verse  is  in  contrast  with  the  name 
Jesus  in  the  following  one.  "  Christ "  designates  him  as  the  Anointed 
Messiah,  the  great  divinely  appointed  and  anointed  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King  of  his  people.  In  these  various  offices  we  have  come 
to  learn  how  in  Christ  we  have  the  redemption  in  which  is  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace.  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  the  Apostle  says:  "Wherefore,  holy  breth- 
ren, partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  consider  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus."     (Heb.  iii,  1.)     Christ  is  our 


384  IMITATION   OF   CHlilST. 

great  prophet,  and  has  taught  us  the  deep  things  of  God,  himself 
being  the  substance  of  his  teachings.  Christ  is  our  great  High 
Priest,  having  offered  up  himself  once  for  all  for  the  putting  away 
of  our  sins  forever.  Christ  is  our  glorious  King,  with  all  power  to 
keep  and  defend  us  in  the  possession  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  of 
righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost  into  which  he  has 
brought  us.  Happy  the  believer  who  has  learned  Christ  so,  in  his 
glorious  person  and  ofdces.  The  Apostle  says  that  we  have  thus 
learned  Christ  only  if  we  have  heard  him  and  been  taught  by  him. 
It  is  not  enough  that  we  have  heard  of  Christ  and  been  taught  ahout 
him.  This  indeed  is  important  and  necessary.  This  indeed  is  being 
done  constantly  by  all  the  preachers  and  teachers  of  the  Word.  But 
if  our  knowledge  of  Christ  only  stands  in  a  doctrinal  knowledge 
heard  at  the  lips  of  human  teachers,  it  will  not  serve  to  bring  us  out 
of  darkness  into  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  "  If 
so  be  that  ye  have  heard  him  "—that  is,  if  Christ  himself  has  spoken 
to  your  soul  inwardly  by  his  own  Spirit,  so  that  while  you  have  been 
reading  the  wi'itten  Word  or  hearing  the  teaching  of  the  preacher, 
you  have  been  conscious  of  the  presence  of  another  Teacher,  making 
the  words  which  have  come  to  you  to  be  very  Spirit  and  life.  To 
hear  Christ  thus  himself  speaking  to  one's  soul  is  to  be  "  taught  by 
him  "  or  "  in  "  him ;  for  all  true  spiritual  teaching  shows  us  how  all 
the  lessons  of  God  to  the  soul  tend  to  unite  the  soul  with  Christ. 
We  are  taught  by  him,  and  being  so  taught  we  find  ourselves  becom- 
ing one  with  him,  as  the  branch  is  ^4n"  the  vine  and  one  with  the 
vine.  The  thought  altogether  is  that  the  Christian  walk  can  only  be 
counted  on  or  looked  for  in  the  lives  of  those  professors  who  have  a 
real  life  in  Christ.  ^'As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  Here  we  have  our 
attention  called,  not  to  the  great  offices  of  the  Christ,  but  to  the 
man  Jesus,  in  whom  these  great  offices  were  revealed  and  set  forth. 
The  truth  concerning  them  is  not  abstract  truth,  but  truth  "in 
Jesus."  '^As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  "What  is  truth?"  asked 
Pilate.  Jesus  tells  us:  "I  am  the  truth."  No  truth  apart  from 
Christ  is  saving  truth.  One  may  believe  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
in  regeneration,  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  in  the  life  ever- 
lasting, as  so  many  doctrines ;  but  unless  they  see  that  Jesus  is  the 
substance  of  them  all  and  grasp  the  truth  "in  him,"  it  is  mere  empty 
knowledge,  and  while  it  may  serve  to  puff  up  the  possessor  with 
orthodox  pride  it  will  neither  save  nor  sanctify  the  life. 


THE   PRACTICAL   OUTCOME   OF   THE   LESSON.       385 


II.— THE  PRACTICAL  OUTCOME   OF   THE    LESSON. 

The  Apostle  proceeds  now  to  show  what  the  result  in  the  life  is 
of  so  learning  Christ.  Every  seed  brings  forth  after  its  kind;  and 
if  Christ,  the  living  and  eternal  Word  of  God— the  begetting  seed — 
is  really  sown  in  oiu'  hearts,  it  will  bring  about  a  result  such  as  is 
described,  first  in  general,  and  then  in  detail,  in  the  following 
verses.  It  is  an  illustration  of  what  Paul  means  elsewhere  when  he 
says,  "for  me  to  live  is  Christ."     (Phil,  i,  21.) 

1.  The  Christian  life  in  general.— The  Apostle  sets  forth 
under  a  figure  the  general  effect  upon  the  life  of  having  learned 
Christ  and  been  taught  in  him. 

(i)  The  old  man.     The  old  man  is  that  manifestation  of  the  sm- 
ful  nature  which  is  common  to  all  men  before  they  come  to  Christ; 
that  body  of  sinful  propensities  and  inclinations  which  leads  to  the 
walk  of  the  Gentiles.     He  speaks  of  the  same  thing  when  he  says 
elsewhere :  "  Mortify  therefore  your  members  which  are  upon  the 
earth;     ...     in  the  which  ye   also  walked  sometime,  when  ye 
lived  in  them."     (Col.  iii,  5-7.)     He  speaks  concerning  their  ''for- 
mer conversation,"  which  is  a  term  descriptive  not  only  of  speech, 
but  of  the  whole  habit  of  the  life,  which  he  declares  to  have  been 
corrupt.     Peter  also  speaks  of  this  old  life,  when  he  says  we  were 
''redeemed     .     .     •     fvom  our  vain  conversation  received  by  tra- 
dition"   (inheritance)  "from  our  fathers."     (I.    Pet.  i,  18.)     This 
habit  of  life  and  disposition  of  mind  Paul  calls  the  old  man,  the  cor- 
rupted nature  or  disposition  received  by  inheritance  from  Adam. 
He  calls  it  "corrupt  accorcUng  to  the  deceitful  lusts."     This  life  is 
so  vile  when  it  is  fully  lived  out,  that  it  is  as  though  it  were  a  man 
walking  through  life  leprous  and  rotten  with   disease— a  disease 
brought  about  by  the  gratifications  of  the  lusts  of  man's  lower  nat- 
ure, fired  and  energized  by  deceit.     For  the  gratification  of  smful 
lusts  always  ends  in  deceiving  the  sinner.     They  promise  pleasure 
without  harm,  and  though  they  may  give  momentary  gratification, 
they  end  in  deadly  harm.     This  old  man,  this  body  of  disease  and 
death,  is  not  properly  a  part  of  our  original  human  nature,  which 
was  made  in  the  image  of   God.     It  is  that  fungus  growth  of  sin 
which  has  fastened  on  our  proper  humanity,  feeds  upon  it,  and  poi- 
sons it.     Sin  in  this  respect  is  a  foul  cancer,  which  Christ  came  to 
eradicate  by  the  power  of  his  own  life.     He  has,  in  fact,  dealt  a 
deadly  blow  to  this  old  man  in  every  soul  who  has  "learned  him" 
as  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King.     The  "old  man"  is  now  a  decaying 


38G  IMITATION   OF  CHRIST. 

and  putrid  corpse  in  every  believer — a  vile  tiling,  to  be  put  off  and 
cast  out  of  tlie  life.  It  hangs  about  the  regenerated  man  as  an  old 
and  worn-out  garment,  vile  with  dirt  and  ragged  with  much  evil  use. 
It  is  a  thing  to  be  laid  aside.  In  this  the  believer  must  be  active. 
God  lias  by  regeneration  separated  the  old  man  vitally  from  our 
humanity,  but  he  calls  upon  us  in  the  energy  of  his  grace  to  ' '  put  it 
off."  Salvation  is  an  intelligent  matter,  in  which  all  the  faculties 
of  our  personality  are  to  be  brought  into  play. 

(ii)  The  renewed  mind.  ''And  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your 
mind."  He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  Christ  God  has  given 
us  a  new  mind.  It  is  in  the  energy  of  this  renewed  mind  that  we 
are  to  work,  both  in  putting  off  the  old  man  and  in  putting  on  the 
new  man.  When  health  comes  to  a  diseased  skin,  a  new  or  young 
and  healthy  skin  appears  in  the  place  of  the  old  diseased  skin.  It 
is  the  coming  into  our  lives  of  this  new  man  or  "  young  skin  "  which 
crowds  off  the  old  man.  When  Naaman  the  leper  was  healed,  we 
are  told  that  his  flesh  became  again  as  a  little  child's — young,  soft, 
and  pure.  While  this  new  and  young  mind  of  the  new-born  child  of 
God  is  appearing,  it  is  for  us  to  hasten  the  process  of  outward  and 
visible  salvation,  by  scaling  off  the  old  man.  It  would  be  hopeless 
to  try  and  cure  a  leprosy  by  picking  away  at  its  outward  festers ; 
but  if  underneath  there  is  a  flow  of  health  and  the  coming  of  a  new 
skin,  then  we  may  hasten  the  outward  cure  by  peeling  off  the  cor- 
rupt, diseased,  and  dead  skin.  The  whole  figure  is  bold  and  sug- 
gestive. If  we  mil  hasten  the  process  of  getting  rid  of  the  old  man, 
let  us  be  careful  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  our  mind  in  the  power  of 
Christ's  life. 

(iii)  Tlie  new  man.  ''And  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man."  If 
we  are  careful  to  put  off  the  old  man  we  must  likewise  be  careful  to 
put  on  the  new  man,  "which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness."  This  new  man  is  in  contrast  with  the  old  man 
— ^the  moral  image  of  one  in  contrast  with  the  moral  image  of  the 
other.  The  old  man  is  corrupt  through  deceitful  lusts.  The  new 
man  is  created  after  (the  image  of)  God,  in  "  righteousness  and  true 
holiness."  This  new  man  is  not  an  evolution  out  of  and  fro)n  the 
old,  but  it  is  a  creation  by  the  hand  of  God.  "  If  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  there  is  a  new  creation"  ("he  is  a  new  creature").  (II.  Cor. 
V,  17. )  The  Christian  life  is  not  a  mere  reformed  sinful  life,  it  is  a 
life  begotten  within  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  the  incorruptible 
word  of  God.  (James  i,  18-21.)  It  is  that  new  birth  of  w^hich  Jesus 
spake  to  Nicodemus,  saying,  that  "except  a  man  be  born  again" 
(that  is,  from  above)  "he  cannot  see"  (or  enter  into)  "the  kingdom 


THE   PRACTICAL   OUTCOME   OF   THE  LESSON.       387 

of  God."  (John  iii,  1-5.)  In  this  new  man  there  is  '^ power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God."  (John  i,  12.)  That  is,  along  with  the  new 
birth  comes  a  spiritual  energy  as  well  as  a  holy  disposition,  which 
enables  the  new-born  soul  to  rise  up  and  assert  itself  against  the 
old  man  and  cast  it  off.  The  failures  in  Christian  life  are  not  due 
to  lack  of  power,  but  to  the  failure  to  use  the  power  that  is  in  us. 
How  often  we  read  of  the  grace  of  God  working  in  and  for  us  "  ac- 
cording to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us."  (Eph.  iii,  20.)  The  new 
man  is  created  in  righteousness.  God  not  only  restores  us  to  right- 
eous standing  by  the  work  of  Christ  for  us  on  the  cross,  but  he  com- 
municates a  real  righteousness  in  us  by  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  "new  creation."  It  follows,  therefore,  that  there  will  be 
"true  holiness  "  in  the  manifestation  of  the  new  man.  By  true  holi- 
ness is  meant  a  real  spiritual  holiness,  in  distinction  from  a  mere 
outward  reformation  and  the  ceremonial  holiness  seen  in  attention 
to  ordinances  and  ceremonies. 

2.  The  Christian  life  in  detail. — Having  bidden  us  to  put  off 
the  old  man  and  put  on  the  new,  the  Apostle  now  proceeds  to  show  us 
by  concrete  teaching  in  what  the  old  man  consists  and  in  what  the 
new  man  consists.  The  Christian  does  not  have  to  work  in  the  dark, 
nor  is  he  left  to  the  dim  light  of  his  own  conscience  to  tell  him  what 
belongs  to  the  old  and  what  to  the  new  man.  He  does  not  speak  of 
all  the  characteristics  of  either  man,  but  of  enough  to  enable  us  to 
begin  the  work  vigorously ;  no  doubt  well  knowing  that  as  we  go  on 
to  know  the  Lord  the  entire  moral  features  of  both  men  will  be  re- 
vealed. These  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  old  man,  over 
against  which  he  sets  those  of  the  new,  and  urges  us  that  while  with 
one  hand  we  put  off  the  old,  with  the  other  immediately  to  put  on 
the  new.  The  soul  must  be  clothed  with  new  and  good  works  as 
we  strip  it  of  its  old  and  foul  ones. 

(i)  Falsehood.  "Wherefore  putting  away  lying,  speak  every 
man  truth  with  his  neighbor."  This  lying,  though  it  may  properly 
include  all  misstatement  of  fact,  all  misrepresentation,  all  exaggera- 
tion, deals  especially  with  that  kind  of  lying  which  especially  char- 
acterized the  heathen  in  Paul's  day,  aiid  is  as  characteristic  of  hea- 
then nations  of  this  day — the  lying  which  seeks  to  deceive  in  trade 
and  personal  relations.  Here  in  India  it  is  the  rule  never  to  believe 
anything  which  an  unconverted  native  tells  you;  and  one  of  the 
worst  faults  of  the  native  Christian  is  that  he  is  still  in  bondage  to 
this  dreadful  habit.  Put  it  away.  Lay  it  aside  as  a  deceitful  lust, 
a  false,  wicked,  and  destructive  habit ;  and  let  your  words  be  words 
of  truth  mth  your  neighbor,  "for  we  are  members  one  of  another." 


388  IMITATION   OF   CHRIST. 

Christianity  has  brought  with  it  that  ''  brotherhood  of  man  "  which 
the  heathen  knew  nothing  about.  To  lie  to  one's  neighbor,  and  es- 
pecially to  one's  brother,  is  to  lie  to  one's  self.  To  hurt  your  neigh- 
bor is  to  aim  a  blow  at  yourself.  His  rights  should  be  as  sacred  as 
your  own  in  your  eyes. 

(ii)  Anger.  "Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not."  Anger  is  not  in  itself 
a  manifestation  of  the  old  man,  but  anger  with  sin  is.  Jesus  was 
angry,  but  he  was  only  angry  without  sin.  If  we  shall  be  angry 
only  as  he  was  angry,  without  sin,  then  our  anger  will  not  be  sin. 
But  anger  is  a  dangerous  passion.  If  it  is  held  on  to  and  cherished, 
it  will  become  a  personal  matter,  in  which  jealousy  for  God  and  the 
right  will  go  out  of  it  and  personal  pique  and  sense  of  personal 
wrong  will  come  in,  and  breed  hatred,  malice,  and  revenge.  These 
are  deadly  sins.  Therefore,  whatever  the  cause  or  occasion  of  our 
anger,  "let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath."  Wrath  may 
flame  up,  but  we  must  not  allow  it  to  live  over-night.  Surrender 
both  your  anger  and  your  wrath  to  God.  "  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will 
repay,  saith  the  Lord."  Whatever  the  wrong,  whether  it  be  to  us 
or  to  another,  God  can  right  it  better  than  we.  Paul  adds  a  caution 
here  to  this  effect.  "Neither  give  place  to  the  devil."  A  state  of 
anger  is  a  perilous  one  in  more  respects  than  one.  It  opens  the 
door  of  the  soul  to  the  devil.  He  will  be  quick  to  take  possession  if 
we  do  not  make  short  work  with  anger  and  wrath.  How  many 
victories  the  devil  has  had  over  us,  just  because  we  were  angry  and 
sinned,  and  laid  up  our  wrath  over-night  and  began  with  it  afresh 
the  next  day ! 

(iii)  Dishonesty.  "Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more."  Thievery 
was  a  common  sin  with  the  heathen.  The  desire  to  provide  for 
one's  necessities  not  by  honest  labor  but  by  preying  ujjon  our  neigh- 
bors' goods  and  industry,  is  not  uncommon  in  Christian  countries. 
Thievery  is  not  confined  to  burglary  or  even  larceny.  It  is  prac- 
ticed by  many  men  in  trade,  by  misrepresentations,  false  marks, 
false  weights  and  measures,  adulteration  of  goods,  etc.  All  this  is 
stealing.  Let  it  cease  in  every  form  among  Christians.  Give  the 
heathen  and  other  children  of  the  de^dl  the  monopoly  of  this  kind 
of  business.  Let  us  labor  with  our  own  hands,  or  practice  perfect 
honesty  in  our  trades  and  callings,  not  alone  that  we  may  have,  but 
that  we  "may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth."  There  are  always 
some  persons  in  need,  worthy  persons,  whom  sickness  and  misfort- 
ime  have  for  the  time  being  rendered  indigent.  With  our  surplus 
earnings  and  savings  it  is  a  joy  (or  ought  to  be)  to  the  new  man  to 
distribute  "to  the  necessity  of  saints." 


THE   PRACTICAL   OUTCOME   OF   THE  LESSON.       389 

(iv)  Foulness  of  speech.  This  is  also  one  of  the  commonest  char- 
acteristics of  the  old  man.  Unclean  thinking  leads  to  unclean 
speech.  An  unclean  heart,  like  an  unclean  and  foul  fountain,  sends 
forth  unclean  waters  of  speech.  This  foulness  may  justly  refer  not 
only  to  foul  and  filthy  speech  and  unchaste  allusions,  but  to  slander 
and  backbiting  and  general  scandal-mongering.  The  opposite  to 
this  in  the  new  man  is  such  speech  and  conversation  as  tends  to 
edification  of  the  speaker  and  is  a  minister  of  grace  to  the  hearer. 
"  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom ;  teaching 
and  admonishing  one  another."  (Col.  iii,  16.)  Solomon  tells  us 
that  the  speech  of  the  righteous  is  a  well  of  life.  (Prov.  x,  11.) 
Cultivate  this  kind  of  conversation.  Surely  there  is  enough  in  the 
new  world  of  righteousness  to  afford  profitable  subjects  of  conversa- 
tion. Nothing  so  quickly  betrays  the  quality  of  a  man's  life  as  the 
general  tenor  of  his  conversation. 

3.  On  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit.— Having  mentioned  the  above 
four  cardinal  sins  of  the  old  man,  the  Apostle  adds  an  injunction 
against  grie^dng  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  as  though  the  indulgence  of 
such  things  were  a  grief  to  him,  as  any  evil  practiced  by  a  child  is  a 
grief  to  those  who  love  him.  The  H:oly  Spirit  bears  such  a  personal 
relation  to  us  that  our  actions  "  grieve  "  him.  None  but  a  friend 
can  grieve  a  friend.  The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  is  our  friend,  deeply 
interested  in  our  welfare.  He  is  the  ''Holy"  Spirit  of  God,  and  all 
offenses  against  holiness  done  by  the  children  of  God  are  a  grief  to 
his  holy  nature.  Besides,  he  it  is  who  seals  us  unto  the  day  of  re- 
demption. The  indulgence  of  the  sins  mentioned  above  and  the  ab- 
sence of  the  virtues  spoken  of  in  antithesis  must  arrest  the  progress 
of  the  work  of  "  sealing,"  and  so  we  add  injury,  perhaps  fatal  injury, 
to  ourselves,  as  well  as  grief  to  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  by  not  taking 
heed  to  the  lesson  we  have  learned  in  Christ. 

4.  A  final  injunction.— As  if  to  gather  up  what  remained  of 
the  old  man,  the  Apostle  adds  that  "all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and 
anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil  speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with 
all  malice."  These  are  all  distinctly  of  the  old  man,  and  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  growth  of  the  new  man.  Instead  of  these 
the  Apostle  adds  the  following  new-man  characteristics  to  be  culti- 
vated or  put  on.  (i)  Kindness  one  to  another.  Kindness  is  gentle- 
ness in  bearing  with  wrong.  (Luke  vi,  35 ;  Rom.  xi,  22 ;  Eph.  n, 
7;  I.  Pet.  ii,  3.)  (ii)  Tender-heartedness.  This  is  a  more  active 
manifestation  of  warm-hearted  sympathy  and  love.  (I.  Pet.  iii,  8.) 
(iii)  "Forcjiving  one  another."  There  are  constantly  arising  between 
brethren,  while  we  are  yet  imperfect,  offenses  more  or  less  grievous 


390  IMITATION   OF   CHRIST. 

to  "be  borne,  which  excite  resentment,  or  at  least  make  deep  wounds. 
Well,  in  the  spirit  of  the  renewed  mind,  we  must  practice  forgive- 
ness ;  that  is,  put  all  sense  of  wrong  and  all  feeling  of  offense  out  of 
our  hearts.  The  motive  urged  is,  that  as  Christ  has  done  all  this  for 
us  in  the  matter  of  our  sins  against  God,  so  we  ought  to  be  Christ- 
like in  our  bearing  toward  our  brethren.  This  is  the  only  rule  we 
dare  follow  in  all  personal  matters.  Indeed,  it  is  the  great  and 
golden  rule  of  the  Christian  life,  to  act  in  every  case  that  comes  up 
as  we  think  Christ  would  have  acted  in  similar  circumstances. 


XLVIII. 

THE   CHRISTIAN    HOME.— Col.  lii,  12-25. 

(12)  Put  on  therefore,  as  tlie  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels  of 
mercies,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  longsuff ering ;  (13)  For- 
bearing one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,  if  any  man  have  a  quarrel 
against  any;  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye-  (14)  And  above  all 
these  things  put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness.  (15)  And  let 
the  peace  of  God  rule  in  yom'  hearts,  to  the  Avhich  also  ye  are  called  in  one 
body ;  and  be  ye  thankful.  (16)  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly 
in  all  wisdom;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord.  (17)  And 
whatsoever  ye  do  in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
giving  thanks  to  God  and  the  Father  by  him.  (IS)  Wives,  submit  yourselves 
unto  your  own  husbands,  as  it  is  fit  in  the  Lord.  (19)  Husbands,  love  your 
wives,  and  be  not  bitter  against  them.  (20)  Children,  obey  your  parents  in 
all  things:  for  this  is  well  pleasing  unto  the  Lord.  (21)  Fathers,  provoke 
not  your  children  to  anger,  lest  they  be  discouraged-  (22)  Servants,  obey 
in  all  things  your  masters  according  to  the  flesh ;  not  with  eyeservice,  as 
menpleasers ;  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God :  (23)  And  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men ;  (24)  Knowing  that 
of  the  Lord  ye  shall  receive  the  reward  of  the  inheritance :  for  ye  serve  the 
Lord  Christ.  (25)  But  he  thiit  doeth  wrong  shall  receive  for  the  wrong 
which  he  hath  done:  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons. —Col.  iii,  12-25. 

Tlie  doctrinal  and  practical  teachings  in  this  epistle  and  in  that 
to  the  Ephesians  are  strikingly  similar.  In  the  latter  we  see  the  be- 
liever seated  together  with  Christ  in  the  heavenly  places ;  here  we 
have,  as  a  ground  for  his  high  practical  argnmeut,  this,  in  the  first 
verse  of  our  present  cliapter :  '^  If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek 
those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand 
of  God,"  The  fourth  and  fifth  chapters  of  Ephesians  are  identical  in 
subject  and  general  method  of  treatment  with  the  third  and  fourth 
chapters  of  this  epistle.  Again  we  have  the  ^'old  man"  and  the 
''new  man,"  and  their  identification  with  the  perverted  sinful  nature 
and  the  renewed  gracious  nature  of  man,  followed  by  practically  the 
same  exhortations  to  ^'put  off  "  the  one  and  '^put  on"  the  other,  with 
special  illustrations  in  practical  morals. 

I.— THE  EI.ECT   OF   GOD. 

The  Apostle  addresses  the  ■Colossians  as  the  "elect  of  God." 
This  term  has  been  for  ages  one  which  has  given  rise  to  much  con- 

391 


392  THE   CHRISTIAN   HOME. 

troversy,  to  the  no  little  spiritual  pride  and  to  still  more  deep  and 
dark  depression  of  human  souls.  It  has  been  held  to  designate  those 
certain  individuals  of  the  human  race  who,  by  an  arbitrary  choice 
based  wholly  on  the  absolutely  free  will  of  God,  have  been  chosen 
by  a  fixed  decree  to  eternal  life,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest  of  the 
human  family,  who  have  of  necessity  been  left  to  suffer  the  damna- 
tion due  to  their  sins.  Somehow  this  doctrine,  or  rather  this  inter- 
pretation of  the  doctrine,  has  always  met  with  a  protest  from  the 
common  consciousness  of  God's  people.  That  sinners  deserve  to  be 
damned  if  they  deliberately  reject  the  salvation  of  God,  i^rovided 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and  lovingly  and  persistently  urged  upon  them,  is 
easily  admitted,  even  though  originally  they  were  not  responsible 
for  their  sinful  natures,  but  that,  being  brought  into  the  world  with- 
out their  consent  or  agency,  tainted  with  sin  and  already  under  the 
sentence  of  death,  and  then  delivered  over  to  damnation  for  reject- 
ing a  salvation  which  has  never  been  provided  for  them,  and  to  which 
they  were  never  chosen  by  God,  has  revolted  the  innate  sense  of 
justice  which  is  still  remnant  even  in  the  moral  nature  of  sinful  men. 
It  Is  only  of  late  years,  comparatively,  that  the  consensus  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  has  practically  given  up  this  interpretation  of  the 
doctrine  of  election  (though  there  have  not  been  wanting  in  every 
age  of  the  Church  those  who  have  stoutly  opposed  it).  A  more  care- 
ful reading  and  study  of  the  "Word  of  God  show  us  that  the  election 
does  not  so  much  stand  in  the  individual,  as  in  the  purpose  of  God 
to  save  man  tlirougli  Jesus  Christ,  on  a  principle  of  grace,  from  which 
all  works  and  human  merit  are  excluded.  Election  has  to  do  pri- 
marily, then,  with  the  method  of  God's  grace  rather  than  with  the  par- 
ticular individual  who  is  saved  by  means  of  this  "  election  "  of  grace, 
which  is  in  Christ.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  rather  that  God  has 
chosen  to  save  sinners  through  and  in  Christ,  and  not  that  he  has 
in  mere  sovereignty  chosen  certain  sinners  to  salvation.  The  term 
"  elect "  as  applied  to  sinners  designates  those  who  have  accepted 
God's  choice  of  them,  and  given  themselves  to  him  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  The  whole  world  stands  in  this  election  of  grace,  but  those 
only  who  have  accepted  it  are  elect.  The  word  is  used  with  slightly 
different  meaning,  according  to  the  context  in  which  it  is  found; 
but  this  is  the  underlying  meaning  in  every  passage.  It  frequently 
and  even  commonly  designates  those  who,  having  accepted  Christ, 
have  pressed  on  in  the  divine  life  and  eagerly  accepted  all  "  the  full- 
ness of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ "  ;  and  in  this  sense  are 
the  ^'choice"  ones  among  the  called.  (Matt,  xx,  16;  11.  Pet.  i,  10; 
Eev.  xvii,  14.)    The  elect  ones  of  God  are  said  to  be  "holy,^'  because 


THE   ELECT    OF    GOD.  393 

their  clioiee  or  election  is  not  to  salvation  irrespective  of  character, 
but  "  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  unto  obedience  and  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  [l.  Pet.  i,  2.)  The  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  as  the  agent  in  their  salvation,  and  the  blood  of  Christ  as  the 
ground  of  it,  both  co-operate  to  make  the  believer  a  holy  man. 
Besides,  the  end  of  their  election  is,  that  they  might  be  presented 
"holy  and  unblamable  and  unreprovable  in  his  sight."  (Col.  i,  22.) 
The  real  meaning  of  the  word  sanctify  is  to  "  set  apart " ;  the  end  of 
the  setting  apart  is  unto  holiness ;  and  so  the  elect  are  holy  as  God 
regards  them,  and  also  because  grace  will  presently  make  them  so  in 
fact,  as  they  are  holy  potentially  in  the  purpose  of  God.  They  are 
said  to  be  "delovecV;  not  only  because  as  all  sinners  are  the  objects 
of  God's  love,  but  now,  standing  in  their  new  relation  to  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,  his  "well-beloved  Son,"  in  whom  they  are  accepted 
(Eph.  i,  6),  they  are  beloved  for  his  sake  as  well  as  the  Father's. 
The  love  of  God  as  well  as  the  election  of  God  stands  in  a  peculiar 
sense  in  Christ.  All  who  are  attached  to  and  found  in  Christ  are 
beloved  even  as  Christ  is  beloved.  To  these  elect  ones  the  Apostle 
therefore  addresses  his  exhortation. 

1.  The  Christian  arrayed  in  beautiful  garments. — In  his 
use  of  the  figure  of  the  new  man  or  the  youthful  man,  there  is  a 
mixture  of  the  metaphor  in  which  the  idea  of  garments  has  a  place, 
"  Put  on "  the  things  enumerated  below  as  one  would  put  on  gar- 
ments. It  is  becoming  that  the  ^' elect  of  God,  holy,  and  beloved," 
should  be  clothed  according  to  their  position,  and  in  garments  which 
correspond  to  their  holy  relation.  These  garments  are  set  forth  un- 
der the  following  several  characteristic  virtues,  which  all  belong  to 
the  new  man.  " Bowels  of  mercies.^^  This  expression  is  the  sum  of 
the  garments  in  the  same  sense  that  ''love"  is  the  sum  of  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit.  (Gal.  v,  22.)  What  follows  are 'but  details  of  these 
"bowels  of  mercy."  It  is  the  same  thought  here  that  we  find  in  the 
expression  (Eph.  iv,  32)  ''tender-hearted" — that  inward  disposition 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  God.  (Luke  i,  78 ;  compare  with  II. 
Cor.  vii,  15  ;  Phil,  i,  8  ;  Philemon  12  ;  I.  John  iii,  17.)  If  our  inward 
affection  is  right  toward  our  brethren  the  outward  expression  of  it 
will  be  right  also.  Make  the  heart  good  as  the  tree,  and  the  action 
or  bearing  of  the  life  will  be  good  as  the  fruit.  Eight-heartedness 
toward  our  brethren  must  be  the  basis  of  all  our  intercourse.  The 
particular  attitude  in  the  various  aspects  of  this  tender-heartedness 
is  set  forth  in  three  several  groups,  each  containing  or  naming  two 
virtues  of  close  kin  to  each  other. 

(i)  ^'Kindness  and  liumhleness  of  mind. ^^    Here  we  have  a  descrip- 


394  THE   CHRISTIAN   HOME. 

tioii  of  tlie  disposition  of  mind  toward  onr  brother  and  toward  God. 
In  kindness  we  see  a  gentle,  helpful  disj)osition,  in  opposition  to 
harshness  of  judgment  and  cold  severity  of  manner.  (Kom.  xi,  22.) 
In  humbleness  of  mind,  we  see  that  attitude  toward  God  which  is 
mindful  of  our  own  demerits,  and  the  need  we  have  of  God's  loving- 
kindness  toward  ourselves ;  and  also  that  disposition  which  con- 
strains us  not  to  think  too  highly  of  ourselves  or  too  meanly  of  our 
brother,  whatever  may  be  the  present  difference  in  our  condition, 
even  with  the  contrast  seemingly  in  our  own  favor.  ''Each  esteems 
others  better  than  themselves  "  expresses  the  humility  of  mind  which 
becomes  the  elect  of  God.  Humble-mindedness  does  not  necessarily 
involve  the  presence  or  consciousness  of  sin ;  it  may  look  to  the 
position  of  voluntary  subjection  to  our  brethren  for  their  good ;  even 
as  Christ  humbled  himself  to  become  a  man  for  our  sakes,  and  then 
went  even  further  and  washed  his  disciples'  feet.  "  Let  this  mind 
be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus." 

(ii)  '^  Meekness  and  Jong  suffering. ^^  By  meekness  we  understand 
that  disposition  which  is  the  opposite  of  that  fierceness  of  spirit  which 
is  prompt  to  resent  injuries  and  to  right  ourselves  rather  than  suffer 
wrong,  leaving  the  righting  of  it  to  God.  In  this  respect  Jesus  was 
our  great  example.  "When  he  was  reviled,  he  reviled  not  again." 
Not  because  he  did  not  feel  the  wrong,  but  because  he  chose,  out  of 
love,  rather  to  bear  the  wrong.  This  is  a  virtue  which  the  quick- 
tempered man  ought  especially  to  cultivate.  It  was  in  this  respect 
that  Moses,  natm^ally  a  man  of  quick  and  fierce  temper,  obtained  the 
distinguished  commendation  of  being  the  "very  meek,  above  all  the 
men  which  were  upon  the  face  of  the  earth."  ''Long-suffering"  is 
the  natural  outcome  of  meekness.  The  truly  meek  man  will  bear 
injuries,  not  simply  because  he  has  not  the  spirit  to  resent  them, 
but  because,  choosing  rather  to  suffer  wrong  than  to  do  wrong,  he 
patiently  bears,  in  the  hope  that  the  brother  toward  whom  this  virtue 
is  exercised  will,  through  forbearance,  come  to  a  better  mind  him- 
self. It  takes  the  good  of  the  brother  into  account  quite  as  much  as 
the  proper  cultivation  of  grace  in  one's  self.  The  same  thought  is  in 
Eph.  iv,  32. 

(iii)  ^^  Forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one  anofJier."  This 
rather  is  an  illustration  of  how  the  above  dispositions  of  the  mind 
are  put  into  action.  It  describes  the  mode  of  treatment  under  given 
circumstances.  K  any  have  a  quarrel  or  a  complaint  against  any, 
the  proper  thing  to  do  is  not  to  be  hasty  in  .settling  it  by  demanding 
to  be  righted,  but  in  the  first  place  quietly  bearing  with  the  wrong 
done,  and  forgiving  the  offender.     The  forgiveness  is  an  advance 


THE   ELECT   OF   GOD.  395 

upon  the  forbearance.  One  may  forbear  to  take  vengeance  and  yet 
by  no  means  forgive;  but  if  we  forgive  the  wrong  done  there  ceases 
to  be  any  wrong,  and  therefore  any  occasion  for  forbearance  !  The 
example  in  this  respect,  as  in  all  others,  is  Christ  himself,  who  has 
forgiven  us.  "  So  also  do  ye,"  is  a  distinct  reference  to  that  golden 
rule  of  action  suggested  in  the  Lord's  prayer :  '*  Forgive  us  our 
debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors."  The  forgiveness  must  be  both  in 
kind  and  in  measure,  as  Christ's  forgiveness  of  us, — full,  free,  un- 
grudging, covering  not  one  but  many  offenses,  and  without  bitter 
remembrance  cherished  because  of  the  wrong  done.  The  whole 
heart  must  be  cleared  by  forgiveness.  If  this  great  virtue  were 
only  more  practiced  it  would  bring  about  heaven  upon  earth.  It  is 
noticeable  that  there  is  a  mutuality  of  forbearance  and  forgiveness 
enjoined  here. 

(iv)  "  Tlie  bond  of  iicrfectncss.^^  This  injunction  is  the  crown  of 
all.  '^  Above  all  .  .  .  put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of  perfect- 
ness."  This  is  indeed  "the  greatest  thing  iu  the  world."  It  "shall 
cover  the  multitude  of  sins."  The  comment  in  this  final  injunction 
is  found  in  that  wonderful  chapter  of  Paul's.  (I.  Cor.  xiii,  4-8.) 
The  thought  is  not  that  there  is  a  merit  or  atonement  in  charity  for 
our  sins,  but  that  it  reaches  out  and  covers  a  multitude  of  sins  in 
others.  It  seems  to  hide,  forget,  and  forgive  the  wrong-doer,  either 
in  what  he  has  done  to  us,  or  to  others,  or  to  himself,  and  to  clothe 
him  with  a  garment  which  will  hide  these  defects  from  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  and  seeks  even  to  bring  down  upon  him  the  very  charity 
or  love  of  God.  It  is  '^the  bond  of  perfectness."  That  is,  having 
clothed  yourself  in  the  various  garments  enumerated  above,  then 
put  on  over  all  "charity,"  that  garment  which  holds  all  other  vir- 
tues in  place  and  together.  It  is  the  cincture  of  all  the  graces  of 
the  new  man.  Happy  is  the  Christian  man  who  is  clothed  in  these 
beautiful  garments,  and  who  walks  abroad  thus  arrayed  in  love.  In 
such  an  one  verily  is  the  God  of  love  perfected. 

2.  The  Christian  under  rule  or  government. — "Let  the 
peace  of  God  rule  in  your  hearts."  This  is  not  so  much  a  command 
as  a  great  wish  expressed.  When  our  Lord  was  leaving  his  disciples 
he  said  :  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you."  (John 
xiv,  27.)  This  is  that  double  peace  which  is  both  with  God  and  of 
God — the  peace  which  has  settled  down  upon  the  soul  through  the 
redemption  which  is  in  Christ,  and  which  has  come  into  our  life  to 
take  care  of  it  as  a  guard.  (Phil,  iv,  7.)  Bring  the  life  under  this 
double  peace,  and  it  is  under  heavenly  government.  Let  it  reign 
there  and  have  dominion.     If  only  we  will  be  still  and  not  take  the 


396  THE   CHRISTIAN   HOME. 

management  of  our  own  lives  into  our  own  hands,  this  heavenly  ruler 
will  take  care  of  our  lives  both  in  respect  of  our  sins  against  God, 
and  the  offenses  of  our  brethren  against  us  ;  and  also  in  respect  of 
all  the  outward  circumstances  of  life.  Moreover,  the  Apostle  tells 
us  distinctly  that  hereunto  "ye  are  called."  God  has  called  us  unto 
holiness  as  saints  in  relation  to  himself,  and  unto  peace  as  brethren 
in  relation  to  each  other  and  the  whole  world.  He  reminds  us  that 
we  "are  called  in  one  body."  We  cannot  well  quarrel  with  our  own 
bodies,  or  one  member  with  another,  for  we  cannot  get  on  at  all  un- 
less the  whole  body  is  in  harmony,  each  member  serving  the  other. 
''And  be  ye  thankful."  If  only  we  could  rightly  appreciate  our 
election  in  Christ  and  the  true  end  of  our  salvation,  we  would  be  so 
thankful  that  we  would  scarce  have  room  in  our  hearts  for  any  dis- 
turbing emotions.  Indeed,  it  is  only  when  we  are  thankful  that  the 
peace  of  Christ  can  rule.     (Phil,  iv,  7.) 

3.  Sanctified  Christian  conversation. — The  old  man  gives 
forth  his  conversation  out  of  an  unclean  heart ;  in  filthy  communi- 
cations out  of  the  mouth.  (Eph.  iv,  29,  31.)  In  contrast  with  this 
the  new  man  is  to  sanctify  his  conversation.  In  order  to  this  the 
Apostle  exhorts:  "Let  the  Word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly." 
God's  Word  will  sanctify  the  thoughts,  and  so  purge  the  conversation 
from  all  filthiness,  fill  the  mouth  with  "words  fitly  spoken,"  and  make 
it  a  "well  of  life."  Instead  of  defiling  one  another  with  evil  speech, 
the  communications  between  Christians  will  be  to  edification,  "  teach- 
ing and  admonishing  one  another."  The  Apostle  does  not  mean  that 
our  conversation  is  to  be  carried  on  by  singing  psalms  and  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs ;  but  in  the  spirit  of  gladness  and  with  T/ords  of 
purity  and  thanksgiving;  with  gladness  in  our  hearts,  which  will, 
in  fact,  turn  all  our  conversation  into  true  praise  and  gladness.  If 
one  is  filled  with  the  Word  of  God  as  the  Psalmist  was  with  the  com- 
mandments and  statutes  of  the  Lord  (Ps.  cxix,  5-6),  how  chaste  and 
beautiful  and  edifying  would  be  intercourse  between  Christians.  I 
am  sure  the  meaning  is  not  that  there  is  to  be  no  conversation  ex- 
cept on  strictly  religious  topics ;  but  that  in  the  spirit  of  religion  we 
are  to  speak,  as  indeed  we  are  to  do  all  things,  "giving  thanks  always , 
for  all  things  unto  God  and  the  Father  by  him  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  Nothing  tends  more  to  the  true  and  best  culture  of 
a  man  than  purity  of  speech  out  of  a  glad  heart,  with  the  whole  I'le 
striving  toward  the  pleasing  of  the  Lord.  This  is  the  whole  duty  of 
the  Christian,  to  "do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Just  as 
sometimes  we  say  of  a  man  that  his  life  is  a  song  or  a  poem,  so  a 
Christian's  life  should  be  a  psalm,  a  hymn,  and  a  spiritual  song. 


THE    CHRISTIAN  AT    HOME.  397 


II.— THE   CHRISTIAN   AT  HOME. 

If  these  qualities  of  the  new  man  are  necessary  to  a  proper  regu- 
lation of  our  relations  with  our  brethren  in  general,  in  the  Church 
of  God,  how  much  more  are  they  necessary  in  the  closer  relation  of 
the  family  and  household  life.  Therefore  the  Apostle  turns  to  the 
home  and  seeks  to  apply  these  principles  there.  And,  indeed,  if  we 
too  apply  them  there,  we  shall  be  in  little  danger  of  failing  to  apply 
them  outside.  It  is  in  the  home  life  that  we  are  brought  into  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  each  other  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
Here  each  other's  faults  and  failings  are  best  known ;  here  there  is 
more  free  expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  heart  and  life.  The  home 
bond  will  not  allow  us  to  part  from  each  other's  company,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  frees  us  from  those  external  restraints  which  often  hold 
us  back  from  an  outward  expression  of  the  vile  humors  of  the  old 
man.  The  husband  and  wife  who  are  bound  together  with  the  bond 
of  perfectness  will  hardly  quarrel  with  other  men  and  women.  The 
parent  and  child  who  are  knit  together  in  love  will  not  have  difficulty 
in  getting  along  either  with  young  or  old  outside  the  family.  The 
master  and  servant  who  have  come  to  recognize  mutual  relations 
and  responsibilities  in  Christ  will  be  able  to  play  their  parts  toward 
all  other  masters  and  servants. 

1.  The  wife  and  the  husband. — (i)  "Wives,  submit  your- 
selves unto  your  own  husbands,  as  it  is  fit  in  the  Lord."  (Eph.  v, 
22;  Tit.  ii,  4,  5 ;  I.  Pet.  iii,  1.)  The  wife  is  not  the  servant  of  the 
husband,  but  one  with  him,  and  in  the  holy  union  which  God  has 
established  between  them  the  husband  is  the  proper  head,  in  whom 
resides  the  final  authority  in  all  household  matters.  The  wife  is 
indeed  the  heart  in  this  union,  and  if  she  will,  she  may  rule  the  head 
with  love ;  but  in  any  case  she  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  submit  to 
a  rule  which  she  herself  has  practically  dictated,  (ii)  ^'Husbands, 
love  your  wives,  and  be  not  bitter  against  them."  Authority  in  this 
union  is  not  arbitrary  but  loving.  Because  a  man  is  the  head  of 
the  wife  he  has  not  the  right  to  be  bitter  and  hard  in  exercising  his 
authority.  Indeed,  if  he  love  his  wife  he  cannot  be,  for  no  man  ever 
yet  was  bitter  against  himself,  and  the  wife  and  the  husband  are 
one  body.  If  the  wife  is  to  obey  her  husband,  the  husband  must  be 
sure  to  love  his  wife  before  he  lays  commands  upon  her.  The  love 
is  as  obligatory  in  one  case  as  the  obedience  is  in  the  other.  Happy 
household  where  both  these  obligations  are  faithfully  carried  out  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord  ! 


398  THE   CHRISTIAN  HOME. 

2.  The  children  and  the  parents. — (i)  The  children  are  to 
obey  their  parents  in  all  things.  This  command  is  limited  by  the 
expression  ''in  the  Lord."  (Eph.  vi,  1.)  The  father  has  no  right 
to  command  his  child  to  do  anything  contrary  to  the  will  of  God, 
i.  e.,  to  command  him  to  do  what  is  wrong.  Of  course  the  father, 
being  a  child  of  God  himself,  will  not  do  this,  and  it  is  of  the  Chris- 
tian household  the  Apostle  is  speaking.  The  child  must  not  set  up 
his  will  against  his  father's,  nor  his  immature  judgment  against  that 
of  his  father.  Fathers  often  lay  commands  on  their  children,  the 
necessity  or  wisdom  of  which  does  not  appear  to  the  child.  The 
child  must  nevertheless  obey,  "for  this  is  well  pleasing  unto  the 
Lord."  Many  a  child  has  seen  cause  to  thank  and  bless  his  father 
for  a  course  taken  with  him  which  at  the  time  he  bitterly  resented 
or  reluctantly  submitted  to.  (ii)  The  father  on  his  part  must  not 
be  arbitrary  or  too  exacting  with  his  child.  He  must  consider  his 
youth  and  immature  powers,  and  not  expect  too  much  from  him. 
He  must  be  careful  not  to  try  to  put  his  old  head  on  his  child's 
young  shoulders  ;  not  to  provoke  by  hard  and  impossible  commands, 
and  thus  discourage  him.  "The  willing  horse  must  not  be  spurred." 
Even  children  have  rights  which  parents  are  bound  to  respect.  A 
too  stern  parent  often  makes  a  stubborn  son,  and  a  too  tight  rein 
over  one's  child  often  induces  wildness  and  license  after  the  natural 
authority  has  ceased  by  reason  of  advancing  years. 

3.  The  servant  and  the  master. — Here  the  Apostle  goes  into 
greater  detail  than  in  discussing  the  other  relations  in  the  home.  It 
is  because  the  servant's  place  in  the  home  is  the  hardest  one.  In 
the  case  in  the  Apostle's  mind  it  was  not  voluntary  servitude,  but 
the  servant  was  a  slave,  bound  to  his  master  by  bonds  which  were 
unnatural  and  unwarranted  by  the  higher  law  of  Christ,  yet  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  world's  evils  which  could  not  at  once  be  set  right. 
Nevertheless  in  the  Lord  the  slave  and  the  master  could  both  bear 
themselves  in  a  way  which  would  lighten  the  heavy  burden  of  the 
one  and  soften  the  unnatural  responsibility  of  the  other,  (i)  The  ser- 
vant must  obey  the  master  in  all  things,  just  as  the  child  must,  even 
though  the  natural  and  original  loving  relation  is  not  there.  He  is 
a  master  according  to  the  flesh  and  not  according  to  the  Spirit.  But 
the  servant  must  not  on  this  account  be  surly  or  resentful.  He  must 
rise  above  the  mere  eye-service  of  the  rebellious  but  helpless  slave ; 
he  must  be  no  mere  man-pleaser  ;  but,  grasping  his  liberty  in  Christ, 
have  a  single  eye  to  God,  and  be  cheered  by  the  thought  that  he  is 
God's  servant  notwithstanding  the  humiliating  and  galling  nature  of 
the  present  relation.     " In  singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God."     Doing 


THE    CHRISTIAN   AT    PIOME.  399 

everything  heartily,  freely,  cheerfully,  not  considering  his  earthly 
master  alone,  but  rather  the  Lord,  who  is  master  of  both  slave  and 
slave-owner.  He  shall  not  lose  his  heavenly  inheritance  because  for 
the  present  he  belongs  to  another  man  ;  nay,  he  is  the  Lord's  servant. 
If  wrong  is  done  him  by  his  master  he  must  bear  it ;  the  Lord  will 
right  him  and  recompense  his  wrong.  God  does  not  respect  the 
person  of  the  master  more  than  the  person  of  the  servant,  (ii)  The 
master  is  admonished  that  he  also  has  a  Master  in  heaven,  to  whom 
he  must  give  an  account  even  as  he  holds  authority  over  his  earthly 
servant.  Therefore  let  him  be  carefuk  to  give  to  his  servant  that 
which  is  just  and  equal.  These  principles  ought  to  hold  good  even 
in  our  day,  when  the  bonds  between  masters  and  servants  are  volun- 
tary. There  is  a  necessity  upon  some  of  us  to  be  the  servants  of 
others  even  though  we  are  not  their  slaves,  and  in  these  relations  we 
too  must  learn  to  '^  serve  the  Lord  Christ. ^^ 


XLIX. 

GRATEFUL  OBEDIENCE.— James  i,    16-27. 

(16)  Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren.  (17)  Every  good  gift  and  every 
perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with 
whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning.  (18)  Of  his  own  will 
begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  firstfruits 
of  his  creatures.  (19)  Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be 
swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath:  (20)  For  the  wrath  of  man 
worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God.  (31)  Wherefore  lay  apart  all  filthi- 
ness  and  superfluity  of  naughtiness,  and  receive  with  meekness  the  en- 
grafted word,  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls.  (22)  But  be  ye  doers  of  the 
word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves.  (23)  For  if  any  be 
a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like  unto  a  man  beholding  his 
natural  face  in  a  glass :  (24)  For  he  beholdeth  himself,  and  goeth  his  way, 
and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  (25)  But  whoso 
looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein,  he  being 
not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in 
his  deed.  (26)  If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not 
his  tongue,  but  deceive th  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain.  (27) 
Pure  religion  and  undeflled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this.  To  visit  the 
fatherless  and  widows  in  their  aflliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world.— James  i,  16-27. 

James  was  the  half-brother  of  our  Lord,  and  the  chief  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Jerusalem.  He  vs^as  subsequently  put  to  death  by 
Herod,  being  beheaded  with  the  sword.  The  Jewish  Christians  were 
a  most  difficult  body  of  people  to  govern ;  for  while  they  had  accepted 
Jesus  as  the  Christ  and  had  formally  broken  with  Judaism,  they  still 
retained  all  their  national  characteristics,  were  proud  of  their  race, 
and  slow  and  reluctant  to  recognize  the  Gentiles  as  being  on  a  spirit- 
ual level  with  themselves  and  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  in  the 
Gospel.  They  were  still  fierce  haters  of  the  Romans,  and  had  the 
idea  deeply  rooted  in  their  minds  that  they  were  the  chosen  people 
of  God  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity  as  they  had  been  for  the 
custody  of  revelation.  They  were  carnal  in  their  ideas,  and  could 
not  somehow  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  the  Christian  Church  was  to  be 
more  or  less  a  national  and  political  organization,  to  be  carried  for- 
ward by  carnal  zeal  and  carnal  weapons.  At  the  time  this  epistle 
was  written  they  were  suffering  severe  trials  and  afflictions  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith  and  their  misguided  zeal.  They  resented  their 
trials,  and  quarreled  in  spirit  with  God  for  suffering  them  to  come. 

400 


"THE   FATHER   OF   LIGHTS:^."  401 

Their  faith,  was  wavering,  and  they  were  altogether  in  a  most  danger- 
ous spiritual  condition.  In  resenting  their  real  or  fancied  wrongs 
they  were  fierce  and  wrathful  in  disposition,  and  then  they  were 
disposed  to  justify  their  bad  tempers  and  fanatical  passions  by  say- 
ing that  God  had  tempted  them  to  wrong-doing,  if  there  was  wrong 
in  it.  There  were  other  grave  defects  in  their  Christian  life,  which 
their  pastor  was  most  earnestly  desirous  of  correcting.  Especially 
he  was  anxious  as  to  the  reality  of  their  true  spirituality,  and  to 
ghow  them  the  radical  difference  between  a  merely  formal  faith  and 
a  deei3ly  inwrought  one  ;  between  ceremonial  religion  and  practical 
holiness ;  between  right  and  wrong  methods  of  doing  God's  work, 
right  and  wrong  relations  between  the  rich  and  poor,  the  "brother 
of  low  degree  and  him  of  high."  The  Epistle  of  James  has  been 
called  the  "common  sense  of  Christianity."  He  deals  almost  ex- 
clusively with  the  practical  side  of  faith,  and  with  the  life  which  is 
the  outcome  of  redemption,  rather  than  with  the  great  facts  con- 
nected with  our  redemption.  At  the  same  time  he  implies  all  the 
doctrinal  truth  which  Paul  sets  forth.  His,  however,  is  more  of  an 
exposition  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  applied  to  the  Christian  life, 
and  as  being  the  true  ideal  to  be  attained.  Every  one  of  the  seven 
beatitudes  of  our  Lord  is  distinctly  referred  to  in  this  epistle. 

I.~"THE   FATKES   OF   LIGHTS." 

There  were  some  wrong  viev.'s  of  God  afloat  among  them ;  nay, 
they  were  being  sadly  and  dangerously  infected  with  some  seriously 
false  doctrine  concerning  God  the  Father,  which  he  wished  to  cor- 
rect. He  therefore,  at  the  point  at  which  our  particular  study  begins, 
utters  a  note  of  v/arning.     (v.  16.) 

1.  A  caution  against  false  doctrine. — "Do  not  err,  my  be- 
loved brethren."  It  is  a  tender  but  earnest  warning  against  the 
danger  of  taking  up  with  false  teaching,  and  so  being  led  into  false 
and  harmful  conduct.  In  the  early  Chm'ch  there  were  many  false 
teachers  and  dangerous  doctrines.  Sound  doctrine  is  at  the  bottom 
of  a  sound  life.  As  a  man  " thinketh  in  his  heart"  (or  believeth) 
"so  is  he."  The  warning  here  refers  to  both  what  follows  and  to 
what  precedes  this  verse  in  the  epistle ;  more  especially  to  what 
precedes,  in  respect  of  God  being  in  any  sense  the  author  of  sin.  If 
sin  can  be  traced  to  God  in  any  way,  then  it  ceases  to  be  sinful.  This, 
however,  is  the  very  worst  of  heresies,  and  James  refutes  it  with 
strong  and  clear  language.  "  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither 
tempteth  he  any  man  "  to  it.    If  there  be  evil  in  the  world,  as  there  is,  it 


402  GRATEFUL  OBEDIENCE. 

is  tlie  result  of  man's  own  actions.  Desire,  like  a  wicked  and  wanton 
woman,  leads  man  to  sin ;  and  then  when  sin  has  entered  into  the 
life  it  brings  forth  death.  But  this  is  not  of  God,  and  James  will 
not  allow  such  a  thought  to  gain  currency  in  the  Church  without  his 
strong  and  vigorous  protest.  The  most  difficult  problem  we  have 
to  face  out  here  in  India  is  the  problem,  philosophically  considered, 
of  the  origin  of  sin.  The  Hindoo  at  large  holds  that  sin  is  one  6t 
the  outcomes  of  the  divine  activity  in  man ;  tliat  God  is  omnipresent, 
and  so  the  absolute  Author  of  everything ;  that  man  is  but  one  mani-** 
festation  of  God,  and  all  that  man  does,  both  good  and  evil,  are  but 
manifestations  of  God.  This  pantheism  cuts  the  nerve  of  the  con- 
science and  throws  back  all  responsibility  for  sin  upon  God. 

2.  God  is  the  Author  and  Giver  of  all  good,  and  only  of 
good. — Just  as  sin  cometh  from  man  himself  and  only  from  man, 
yielding  to  his  lust,  so  all  that  is  good  in  this  world  is  the  direct 
emanation  or  gift  from  God.  ^' Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect 
gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  "  God.  Not  only  all  tem- 
poral good,  but  all  spiritual  good,  comes  down  from  God.  The  proba- 
bility is,  from  the  expression  "cometh  down,"  and  from  what  follows 
as  a  specific  illustration,  that  the  writer  is  referring  more  particularly 
to  spiritual  gifts.  He  is  ^'the  Father  of  Lights."  As  the  sun  is  the 
source  of  all  the  lights  (planets)  which  shine  out  in  our  system,  so 
God  is  the  original  source  of  all  the  spiritual  lights  in  this  world. 
' '  God  is  light."  (I.  John  i,  5. )  ''  The  Light  of  the  World  "  was  one 
of  the  titles  of  Jesus.  (John  i,  9;  \dii,  12.)  He  came  to  light  the 
world,  to  lead  men  out  of  darkness  into  the  light  of  God,  and  to 
banish  darkness  (sin)  out  of  their  lives.  In  him  "is  no  variableness, 
neither  shadow  of  turning."  This  is  almost  equivalent  to  what  John 
says  of  him  :  ^'  And  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all."  (I.  John  i,  5.)  This 
declaration  of  the  unvariableness  of  God's  character  for  light,  and 
his  shadowlessness,  refers  to  what  he  had  before  said,  repudiating 
the  thought  that  he  could  in  any  way  be  the  author  of  sin  or  tempt 
any  man  to>  sin.  God's  absolute  holiness  is  absolutely  changeless. 
It  casts  no  shadow  of  darkness.  Clouds  may  intervene  to  obscure 
the  light,  and  men  may  come  in  between  God  and  the  world  of  men 
and  make  shadows,  but  God  himself  casts  no  shadow.  It  follows 
that  his  people  should,  being  filled  with  his  life,  cast  no  darkness. 
"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world."  (Matt,  v,  14.)  If  we  east  shadows 
of  darkness  upon  the  world  of  men,  it  is  because  of  sin  that  is  in  us, 
and  not  because  of  the  good  and  perfect  gift  which  has  come  down 
from  above  from  the  Father  of  Lights.  Let  no  man  therefore  say 
that  his  darkness  is  of  God,  for  God  is  only  and  always  light.     ^'If 


'^THE   FATHER   OF   LIGHTS."  403 

we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we 
lie,  and  do  not  the  truth  :  but  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the 
light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  (I.  John  i,  6,  7.)  It  is 
easy  to  see  the  bearing  of  all  this,  both  on  what  he  had  before  said 
and  upon  what  he  is  about  to  say,  in  respect  to  the  conduct  of  the 
Jewish  Christians  to  whom  he  was  writing.  Instead  of  God  tempt- 
ing to  sin,  or  fostering  sin  in  us,  if  we  have  sin  and  will  only  walk 
in  God's  light,  that  light  must  chase  away  our  darkness  as  the  rising 
sun  chases  away  the  darkness  from  the  earth.  God  as  Light  never 
sets.  He  is  the  Sun  of  the  moral  universe  and  is  always  at  meridian. 
3.  God  is  the  Author  of  our  regeneration. — Man  by  nature 
and  practice  is  a  sinner.  As  such  he  is  full  of  darkness.  That  we 
may  be  the  children  of  light  our  nature  must  be  so  changed  as  to 
receive  the  light  of  God  into  our  souls.  Indeed,  the  light  of  God 
must  shine  into  our  hearts  before  they  can  be  changed,  and  be  filled 
with  light.  He  therefore  speaks  of  the  greatest  of  all  gifts  (after 
Jesus  Christ)  which  has  come  down  from  above  to  men,  from  the 
Father  of  Lights,  viz.,  Regeneration.  "  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us 
with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  his 
creatures."  Here  are  several  great  truths  packed  into  small  com- 
pass, (i)  The  true  Christian  is  a  man  who  is  born  from  above.  (John 
iii,  3,  marg.)  He  has  no  power  of  himself  to  change  his  nature. 
Light  may  shine  into  darkness,  but  light  cannot  come  out  of  dark- 
ness. Man  cannot  regenerate  himself.  We  are  "born,  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man."  (John  i,  13.) 
That  is,  regeneration  is  not  by  descent  from  godly  parents  ;  no  man 
by  his  will  can  beget  us  by  the  use  of  ceremonies  or  ordinances ; 
neither  by  any  will  of  our  own,  or  personal  energy  in  the  way  of 
resolute  determination  to  make  ourselves  better,  can  we  become  the 
children  of  God.  The  new  birth  is  a  "new  creation."  (II.  Cor.  v,  17.) 
(ii)  This  great  gift  from  God  is  purely  a  sovereign  gift.  "Of  his 
own  will  begat  he  us."  He  was  not  induced  thereto  by  anything  in 
us,  or  done  by  us,  or  by  reason  of  any  intercession  of  others.  This 
of  course  refers  to  his  purpose  of  grace  in  Christ,  and  not  to  any 
discouragement  from  prayer  on  our  part  that  he  would  regenerate 
our  friends.  The  whole  plan  of  salvation  as  well  as  the  whole 
method  of  grace  is  the  result  of  his  own  free,  sovereign,  and  loving 
will,  (iii)  "With  the  word  of  truth."  His  truth— that  is,  the  gos- 
pel of  God  and  of  Christ — is  the  instrument  of  our  regeneration,  as 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  agent  of  it:  "Being  born  again,  not  of  cor- 
ruptible seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God,  which  liv- 


404  GRATEFUL   OBEDIENCE. 

eth  and  abidetli  forever."  (I.  Pet.  i,  23.)  (iv)  ''  That  we  should  be 
a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  his  creatures."  In  three  senses  every  Chris- 
tian is  a  kind  of  first-fruit  to  God.  {a)  We  are  his  peculiarly  in  this 
new  bond  of  spiritual  consecration.  We  have  been  separated  from 
the  rest  of  men  and  brought  into  his  temple.  (Lev.  xxiii,  10,  11 ; 
Jer.  ii,  3.)  (&)  The  children  of  God  have  the  first  and  chiefest  dig- 
nity among  all  his  creatures,  (c)  W^e  are  the  forerunners  of  a  vast 
harvest  of  souls  to  be  gathered  into  his  garner.  This  was  peculiarly 
true  of  the  Jews,  to  whom  the  offer  of  the  Gospel  came  first.  They 
were  not  to  be  the  exclusive  beneficiaries  of  God's  grace,  but  were 
to  precede  the  Gentiles  into  the  kingdom.  The  vast  harvest  was  to 
be  from  the  Gentile  world.  This  should  have  corrected  their  prej- 
udices against  the  Gentiles,  and  made  them  glad  in  seeing  them 
pressing  into  the  kingdom  in  such  numbers,  instead  of  exciting  in 
them  jealousy  and  even  hatred,  as  though  they  were  being  preferred 
before  them.  There  is  also  intimated  in  this  that  it  is  through  re- 
generated people  that  God  is  to  save  the  world.  Every  Christian, 
therefore,  ought  to  consider  himself  pledged  to  effect  through  the 
power  of  God  the  salvation  of  some  other  soul.  How  soon  would 
the  harvest  be  gathered  if  each  one  of  us  were  a  real  '^  first-fruit "  ! 

II.— WRATH   AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

The  writer  now  turns  to  another  branch  of  the  subject ;  that  is, 
he  takes  up  a  very  practical  matter,  growing  somewhat  out  of  what 
has  been  already  said,  and  rightly  following  on  after  his  last  declara- 
tion, as  to  the  true  basis  of  the  Christian  life  in  regeneration.  The 
gentle  graciousness  of  a  man  who  is  now  by  a  new  birth  become  a 
son  of  God,  should  be  after  the  manner  of  the  graciousness  and  kind- 
ness of  God  himself.  Then,  moreover,  the  wrath  or  ungracious 
bitterness  of  man's  spirit  is  not  fitted  to  advance  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  the  earth.  The  "wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,"  with 
which  the  Apostle  introduces  this  topic,  shows  that  what  he  is  about 
to  say  naturally  grows  out  of  what  he  has  just  said  as  to  man's  new 
spiritual  relation  to  God. 

1.  Swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak. — There  is  an  old  proverb 
which  says  that  God,  in  making  man,  gave  him  two  ears  but  only  one 
mouth,  thereby  indicating  that  there  was  much  more  to  be  heard 
than  spoken,  or  that  a  man  ought  to  hear  twice  as  much  as  he  speaks. 
It  is  a  good  rule.  Little  mischief  can  come  of  hearing  even  evil 
things  if  one  keeps  a  guard  on  his  lips.  Even  evil  thoughts  get 
smothered  in  the  heart  if  there  is  no  outlet  for  them  through  the  lips. 


WRATH   AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS.  405 

if  it  is  good  tilings  that  we  give  our  ears  to  hearing,  it  is  still  better 
that  we  take  time  to  ponder  them  well  before  we  send  them  forth  re- 
coined  with  our  own  die  upon  them.  Whether  the  writer  is  speaking 
of  hearing  the  word  and  speaking  forth  the  Gospel  again,  or  whether 
he  is  speaking  of  controversial  hearing  and  speaking,  has  been  much 
debated  by  exegetes.  It  seems,  however,  pretty  clear  from  the  im- 
mediate context  that  he  is  referring  to  a  fanatical,  fierce  sort  of 
speech  which  the  irritable,  hot-headed,  and  impassioned  Jev.ish 
Christians  were  in  the  habit  of  indulging  in  in  their  religious  con- 
troversies. They  would  scarce  give  their  opponent  time  to  speak 
one  word  before  they  poured  forth  a  torrent  upon  him.  They  were 
unwilling  to  listen  to  the  other  side,  or  consider  what  they  had  to 
say  against  whom  they  were  arrayed  in  debate.  It  refers  to  pas- 
sionate, angry,  and  fanatical  speech,  by  which  the  speakers  wished 
or  sought  to  overwhelm  their  opponents,  at  the  same  time  refusing 
to  consider  what  they  might  have  to  say.  It  is  angry  speech  that 
James  is  cautioning  his  brethren  against.  The  cure  for  this  is  a 
quick  ear  and  a  slow  tongue.  Everybody  knows  that  the  quick 
speaker  is  the  one  who  is  apt  to  become  the  angry  speaker,  thereby 
both  dishonoring  the  cause  he  would  uphold,  and  defeating  the  very 
end  he  has  in  view.  The  patient  hearer  who  takes  time  to  deliberate 
upon  what  he  hears  has  time  to  answer  discreetly,  and  to  meet  his 
adversary  at  best  advantage.  That  is  good  advice  given  by  Solomon  : 
''  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty  to 
utter  anything."  (Eccles.  v,  2. )  This  he  spoke  of  making  rash  vows, 
but  it  is  equally  good  advice  concerning  any  kind  of  speech. 

2.  The  wrath  of  man  and  the  righteousness  of  God. — '^For 
the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God."  This  evi- 
dently points  to  the  fact  that  the  angry  speech  alluded  to  above  was 
controversial  religious  speech — an  impetuous,  angry,  and  fanatical 
zeal  which  became  wrath  in  the  speaker.  This  kind  of  preaching 
or  testimony  for  God  cannot  possibly  bring  about  the  extension  of 
his  righteousness  among  men.  Christ  forbade  the  use  of  the  sword 
in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  because  the  Gospel  stands  in  the 
power  of  God,  and  not  in  the  force  of  man;  and  because  the 
righteousness  of  God  is  peace,  and  not  anger.  Here  we  are  admon- 
ished not  to  use  the  sword  of  the  lips,  or  turn  one's  tongue  into  a 
sword  to  be  wielded  by  an  angry  and  wrathful  heart.  The  zeal  of 
the  Mohammedans  indeed  conquered  whole  empires  and  subdued 
many  millions  of  people  to  the  outward  faith  of  the  false  prophet, 
but  it  did  not  work  the  righteousness  of  God.  Neither  did  the  fierce 
aBger  of  the  Christian  crusaders,  which  sent  them  forth  in  wrath 


406  GRATEFUL  OBEDIENCE. 

agains^t  the  Mohammedans,  work  the  righteousness  of  God.  The 
true  sword  of  the  Spirit  is  the  Word  of  God  preached  in  love  and  with 
a  heart  stayed  on  God  and  overflowing  with  tender  love  for  man. 
Let  us  give  our  enemies  or  our  opponents  ample  time  to  state  their 
case  ;  let  them  have  their  say ;  let  us  patiently  hear  them  out,  and 
then,  with  deliberate  conviction  and  careful  and  courteous  speech, 
make  our  reply  in  the  name  of  God.  This  is  most  excellent  advice 
just  now,  when  the  whole  Church  is  ringing  with  controversy  in 
which  everybody  seems  so  quick  to  speak  and  so  slow  to  hear.  lie 
laughs  best  who  la^ughs  last,  and  he  speaks  best  who  waits  to  have 
the  last  word,  not  in  anger,  but  in  quietness  and  strength  of  the 
truth,  *'as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  God  stands  in  need  of  no  swords 
to  propagate  his  Gospel,  and  he  is  dishonored  when  the  children  of 
light  use  angry,  fierce,  and  fanatical  words.  His  righteous  reign 
among  men  will  not  be  furthered  in  that  way, 

III.— MEEKNESS   AND   THE  WORD   OF   GOD. 

Having  pointed  out  the  evil  of  the  vicious  method  of  religious  prop- 
agation, the  writer  now  proceeds  to  urge  upon  his  brethren  the  true 
method  of  spreading  and  extending  the  righteousness  of  God  among 
men.  The  great  weapon  for  the  advancement  of  God's  cause  in  the 
world  is  the  Word  of  God  faithfully  received,  and  faithfully  carried 
out  in  our  own  personal  lives  and  in  doing  the  will  of  God  toward 
others.  This  does  not  imply  that  we  are  not  to  testify  the  Gospel  in 
private  speech  or  public  proclamation,  but  that  while  doing  the  lat- 
ter we  must  first  be  careful  to  do  the  former.  There  is  no  danger 
that  there  will  not  be  enough  speech,  but  there  is  danger  that  there 
will  be  unwise  speech  and  not  enough  right  living  and  doing. 

1.  Laying  aside  naughtiness. — The  first  thing  to  be  done, 
says  James,  is  to  "  lay  apart  all  filthiness  and  superfluity  of  naughti- 
ness." There  seems  little  doubt  but  that  he  refers  in  this  expression 
to  the  wrathful  spirit  and  overflowing  words  of  anger  which  proceed 
from  that  wrath  and  pour  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  carnal  controver- 
sialist. On  the  other  hand,  we  should  with  a  meek  and  chastened 
spirit  listen  to  and  receive  the  ingrafted  Word  of  God.  This  is  like 
repentance  before  faith,  or  like  cleaning  a  good  bit  of  gi'ound  over- 
grown with  weeds,  preparatory  to  sowing  good  seed  in  it.  (Matt, 
xiii,  3,  7,  8. )  Wrath  and  malice  and  anger  make  but  a  filthy  garment 
for  the  spirit  of  one  of  God's  people ;  and  to  deluge  one's  neighbor, 
even  though  he  be  a  sinner,  with  angry  words,  cannot  be  pleasing  to 
God  or  work  anything  but  ill  to  man. 


MEEKNESS  AND   THE   WORD   OF   GOD.  407 

2.  Doers  of  the  Word  of  God.— In  enforcing  the  exhortation  to 
receive  the  ingrafted  Word,  James  cautions  his  brethren  that  to  hear 
the  Word  and  not  xjatieutiy  to  do  it  {i.e.,  to  let  it  have  its  fii'st  proper 
effect  in  one^s  own  life)  is  but  to  deceive  one's  self.  A  mere  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth  is  only  dead  orthodoxy.  No  matter  how  glibly 
one  may  talk  of  God  and  Christ,  no  matter  how  sound  his  teaching, 
if  it  has  not  found  a  place  in  a  meek  heart  it  will  still  burst  forth 
from  an  unbridled  tongue.  Such  a  man's  "  religion  is  vain."  (v.  26, ) 
To  hear  the  Word  carelessly  or  not  to  receive  it  deep  down  in  one's 
heart  is  like  looking  into  a  mirror  for  a  moment,  and  going  away 
and  forgetting  what  manner  of  man  one  is.  The  Word  of  God 
is  a  mirror  to  expose  om*  own  hearts  to  us  as  well  as  to  reveal  the 
image  of  God.  We  must  look  long  enough  to  get  a  clear  knowledge 
of  our  own  sins,  and  of  our  own  salvation  from  sin,  before  we  are 
fitted  to  enforce  that  Word  upon  others.  A  life  consistent  with  the 
Gospel  we  preach  is  the  best  argument  with  which  to  enforce  our 
testimony.  The  W^ord  of  God — that  is,  his  completed  revelation  in 
the  Gospel — is  a  "perfect  law  of  liberty"  or  deliverance.  If  we  look 
carefully,  and  take  faithfully  into  our  hearts  what  we  find  there,  and 
continue  therein — that  is,  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel — and  be  not 
forgetful  of  it,  but  a  persistent  doer  of  it,  then  we  shall  be  blessed  in 
all  our  efforts.  "  This  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed."  Our  words 
become  deeds  when  they  are  words  spoken  out  of  a  pure  heart  and 
a  good  conscience,  and  in  the  love  of  Christ — such  deeds  as  will 
tend  to  spread  the  righteousness  of  God  where  swords  and  earthly 
power  would  utterly  fail.  The  first  Psalm  tells  us  of  the  man  who 
meditates  in  the  Word  of  God,  day  and  night,  and  declares  that  such 
a  man  is  prospered  in  whatsoever  he  doeth.  The  teaching  of  James 
holds  good  with  David  and  also  with  Paul.  (Eom.  x,  9-15.)  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  seem  to  be  religious — that  is,  just  go  through  the 
forms  of  religion  while  in  fact  we  are  at  heart  only  fierce  sectarians 
and  fanatical  propagandists — our  religion  is  vain,  and  we  have  de- 
ceived our  own  hearts  with  a  false  hope  of  salvation,  as  well  as 
failed  to  win  any  converts  to  God. 

3.  "  Pure  religion  and  undefiled." — James  deals  with  the  prac- 
tical side  of  religion.  He  would  have  more  living  and  doing  than 
doctrine  in  the  Church ;  that  is  to  say,  he  would  have  doctrine  en- 
forced not  by  argmnent,  but  by  being  translated  into  life  and  deeds. 
The  poor  we  have  with  us  always,  and  God  would  be  better  pleased 
with  us,  if,  instead  of  merely  arguing  and  contending  for  the  truth, 
especially  in  an  angry  and  sectarian  spirit,  we  should  "visit  the 
fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  keep  '  ourselves '  un- 


408  GRATEFUL   OBEDIENCE. 

spotted  from  the  world."  This  he  calls  pure  aud  Tindefiied  religion. 
Here  these  holy  deeds  of  kindness  and  a  pure  and  holy  life  are  put 
in  contrast  with  the  ' '  all  lllthiness  of  anger  and  wrath,  and  the  over- 
flowing naughtiness  of  Avords,"  which  breathe  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
nor  set  forth  the  real  truth  of  the  Gospel.  To  know  the  Word  of 
God,  and  our  own  hearts  by  means  of  that  "Word,  and  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  sin-eleansing  blood  ;  to  do  the  Word  of  God  in  sanetifieation 
of  the  Spirit ;  to  show  forth  the  love  of  God  to  the  poor  and  dis- 
tressed whom  God  has  left  in  our  midst  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  our 
love  to  him ;  and  to  keep  oiu'selves  clean  from  the  world,  which  is 
always  ready  to  spot  and  defile  us — ^will  go  further  toward  convert- 
ing the  world  than  ail  mere  religious  controversy. 


L. 

THE    HEAVENLY    INHERITANCE.— I  Peter  i,    1-12. 

(1)  Peter,  au  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  strangers  scattered  through- 
out Pontus,  Gahitia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  (3)  Elect  according 
to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father,  through  sanctification  of  tha 
Spirit,  unto  obedience  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ :  Grace 
unto  you,  and  peace,  be  multiplied.  (3)  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begot- 
ten us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead,  (1)  To  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undeflled,  and  that  fadeth 
not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  (5)  Who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  tin\e. 
(6)  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season,  if  need  be,  ye  arc 
in  heaviness  through  manifold  temptations:  (7)  That  the  trial  of  your 
faith,  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that  perisheth,  though  it  be 
tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honour  and  glory  at  the 
appearing  of  Jesus  Christ :  (8)  Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love ;  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspea,kablo 
and  full  of  glory:  (9)  Receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation 
of  your  souls.  (10)  Of  which  salvation  the  prophets  have  inquired  and 
searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come  unto 
you:  (11)  Searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
which  was  in  them  did  signify,  v»^hen  it  testified  beforehand  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow.  (12)  Unto  whom  it  was  re- 
vealed, that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  us  they  did  minister  the  things, 
which  are  now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have  preached  the  gospel 
unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven;  which  things  the 
angels  desire  to  look  into.— I.  Peter  i,  1-13. 

The  dignity  of  the  noble  utterances  of  this  epistle  makes  it  to 
rank  among  the  chiefest  of  the  apostolic  writings.  It  has  always 
been  a  favorite  book  with  believers,  and  is  full  of  the  comfort  of 
hope.  Paul  has  been  designated  as  the  apostle  of  Faith ;  John,  the 
apostle  of  Love ;  and  Peter,  the  apostle  of  Hope ;  and  indeed,  I 
think  these  designations  are  true.  Certainly  Peter  strikes  a  high 
note  of  hope  in  this  epistle,  and  maintains  it.  It  is  a  song  of  salva- 
tion clear  through  to  the  end.  Though  he  is  not  so  dogmatic  as  Paul 
in  his  presentation  of  the  great  underlying  truths  of  our  salvation, 
he  is  none  the  less  clear.  The  precious  blood  of  Christ  and  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead  are  conspicuously  set  forth  as 
the  groimd  of  our  justification  and  the  foundation  of  our  faith, 
(i,  18-21.)     Faith  and  regeneration  are  clearly  taught  as  entering 

409 


410  THE  HEAVENLY  INHERITANCE. 

into  the  essential  qualification  of  the  soul  for  its  present  and  final 
communion  with  God.  (i,  2,  22,  23.)  Holiness,  with  joy  and  peace 
under  and  in  the  midst  of  trial,  and  hope  mounting  up  on  the  wings 
of  a  present  salvation  to  lay  hold  on  an  inheritance  reserved  and 
ready  to  be  revealed  (i,  3,  4,  16),  as  necessary  characteristics  of  the 
saints,  form  conspicuous  points  of  the  teaching  of  this  noble  epistle. 
No  wonder  it  has  been  one  of  the  most  read  and  most  helpful  of  the 
di\dne  writings.  May  the  Spirit  of  God  minister  to  our  own  souls  a 
great  blessing  while  we  pursue  this  short  study  from  its  opening 
chapter. 

I.— THE   SALUTATION. 

This,  like  all  the  apostolic  epistles  (except  that  to  the  Hebrews), 
opens  with  a  salutation  in  which  the  writer  introduces  himself, 
designates  his  relation  to  the  church  or  the  people  to  whom  lie 
writes,  as  well  as  their  own  address  and  standing.  In  this  case  the 
salutation  is  simple  and  gracious. 

1.  Peter  the  apostle. — Peter  here  styles  himself  ''an  apostle 
of  Jesus  Christ."  He  is  but  one  of  several  others.  He  does  not  say 
''the  chief  apostle"  or  the  "first  apostle,"  but  just  "an"  apostle. 
There  is  in  none  of  the  writings  of  this  great  servant  of  Jesus  Christ 
even  the  remotest  hint  of  a  claim  to  any  kind  of  primacy  in  the 
apostolic  office ;  neither  is  there  in  any  of  the  references  to  him  by 
the  other  apostolic  writers  of  the  New  Testament  any  least  recog- 
nition of  such  a  claim.  Indeed,  the  pretensions  of  the  popes  of 
Rome  are  as  arbitrary  as  they  are  blasphemous.  An  apostle  was  a 
special  messenger  commissioned  and  sent  forth  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
declare  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  and  to  testify  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  In  order  to  be  an  apostle  "of  Jesus  Christ"  it  was 
necessary  that  one  should  have  been  the  constant  companion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  beginning  of  his  ministry ;  to  have  heard 
his  teaching  and  to  have  been  an  eye-witness  of  the  fact  of  his  resur- 
rection. All  these  qualifications  Peter  possessed,  and  they  are  again 
and  again  referred  to  by  him,  in  his  addresses  and  ^a-itings,  not 
ostentatiously,  but  incidentally ;  not  for  the  purpose  of  proving  hir. 
apostleship,  but  simply  in  the  course  of  teaching.  Peter  was  espe- 
cially sent  "  to  them  of  the  circumcision,"  or  to  his  own  countrymen ; 
though  at  first  he  seems  to  have  been  designated  as  the  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles.  All  his  writings,  as  well  as  whatever  of  his  history 
we  know  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  show  him  to  have  been  in 
the  closest  sympathy  with  the  Jewish  people ;  and  that  his  concep- 
tion of  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  the  great  salvation  in  him  was 


THE   SALUTATION.  411 

in  accordance  with  the  ancient  Scriptures  of  his  people  and  consistent 
with  their  great  theocratic  liope. 

2.  The  strangers  scattered  abroad, — This  epistle  is  not  ad- 
dressed to  any  particular  person  or  church,  but  to  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians, scattered  throughout  Asia  Minor,  Pontus,  Galatia,  Capadocia, 
Asia,  and  Bithynia ;  which  places  seem  to  have  been  the  scenes  of 
his  former  labors.  Though  he  was  now  in  Babylon,  preaching  and 
teaching  in  that  ancient  city  where  the  great  Daniel  spent  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life,  his  heart  was  still  with  those  scattered  sheep  of 
the  Jewish  Christian  fold,  who  he  heard  were  at  this  time  in  great 
suffering  and  trial.  He  yearned  over  them,  as  a  true  shepherd  over 
his  flock,  greatly  desiring  to  comfort  them. 

3.  Their  standing. — He  begins  by  reminding  them  of  their  re- 
lation to  God,  and  how  they  came  to  be  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  This  of  itself  would  serve  to  strengthen  their  faith  and 
enliven  their  hope,  (i)  They  were  ''elect  ones."  Peter  uses  this 
term  simply  to  designate  them  as  belonging  to  the  "peculiar  people," 
who  were  "a  chosen  generation"  and  ''a  royal  priesthood,"  (ii,  9.) 
It  was  the  glory  of  the  ancient  Jewish  people  to  stand  in  this  close 
and  peculiar  relation  to  God,  both  as  to  his  love,  and  for  witness 
and  service.  Peter  would  remind  them  that  in  becoming  Christians 
they  had  lost  none  of  their  privileges,  but  that  all  of  them  had  rather 
been  enhanced ;  for  it  is  only  in  Christ  that  their  old  shadowy  claims 
in  this  respect  became  a  substantial  reality,  (ii)  Their  standing 
was  "according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father."  The 
reference  here  is  not  only  to  a  fact,  but  especially  to  remind  them 
that  their  present  distressing  circumstances  could  in  no  wise  impair 
their  relation  to  God ;  for  from  the  beginning,  God,  who  had  chosen 
them  to  salvation,  had  foreknown  all  their  circumstances  as  really  as 
he  had  foreknown  tliem.  (iii)  Their  position  and  standing  with  God 
was  no  arbitrary  one.  Their  choice  by  God  had  been  made  ''through 
sanctifieation  of  the  Spirit."  Therefore  they  had  been  born  of  God 
by  the  Spirit,  and  so  were  the  elect  of  God,  not  merely  in  outward 
standing,  as  simply  Jews,  but  by  inward  character,  which  made 
them  his  sons,  (iv)  This  sanctifieation  of  the  Spirit,  again,  was  not 
a  work  which  had  been  arbitrarily  wrought  in  them  ;  but  it  had  been 
brought  about  by  that  faith  which  had  led  them,  in  obedience  to  the 
word  and  teaching  of  God,  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  through  the  ' '  sprink- 
ling of  his  blood "  on  the  great  mercy-seat,  had  obtained  for  them 
the  forgiveness  of  their  sins  and  eternal  salvation,  (Heb.  ix,  11-14, 
24-26;  X,  19-22.)  (v)  Having  thus  reminded  them  of  the  solidity 
of  the  foundation  on  which  they  stood  with  God,  he  gives  them  this 


412  THE   HEAVENLY  INHERITANCE. 

benediction  i  "Grace  unto  yon,  and  peace,  be  mnltiplied. "  That  is, 
he  wishes  that  all  the  gifts  of  the  new  covenant  may  be  bestowed 
upon  them,  and  that  the  i^eaee  of  God  may  be  theirs  in  increasing 
measure,  even  in  their  present  distressing  circumstances.  (Phil,  iv, 
4-8. )  In  this  salutation  we  see  the  respective  parts  taken  in  our 
salvation  by  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Father 
has  chosen  us  to  salvation ;  the  Son  has  sprinlded  his  blood  for  our 
redemption;  and  the  Holy  Spirit  has  ivrouglit  the  renewal  of  our 
characters,  which  qualifies  us  for  our  high  destiny. 

II.— THE   INHEHITAXCE    OF    THE    SAINTS. 

Having  thus  graciously  saluted  them  and  reminded  them  of  their 
high  calling,  the  Apostle  now  proceeds  to  remind  them  of  their  great 
hope,  which  should  cheer  them  in  their  X3resent  circumstances,  and 
even  fill  them  with  joy.  It  is  the  apprehension  of  the  good  "  things 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  ^ove  him,"  that  makes  the 
life  that  now  is,  tolerable  even  in  distressing  circumstances,  and 
prevents  it  from  becoming  a  snare  to  us  when  all  around  is  peace 
and  prosperity.  On  the  one  hand  we  can  bear  all  things,  seeing 
that  the  time  for  suffering  is  short,  and  the  time  for  glory  is  at  hand  ; 
on  the  other  hand  w^e  are  helped  to  moderate  our  carnal  affections 
and  hold  the  present  world  with  a  loose  hand,  seeing  we  are  so  soon 
to  quit  it  for  a  better  one. 

1.  Praise  to  God. — Peter  begins  the  enumeration  of  their  good 
things  in  Christ  by  first  sounding  a  note  of  praise  to  God  and  Jesus 
Christ,  through  whom  all  these  blessings  have  come  to  us,  and  who 
are  still  active  in  bringing  about  "the  end  of  our  faith."  "Blessed 
be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  through  his 
'^abundant  mercy"  that  we  are  w^hat  we  are,  and  not  what  we  were, 
and  shall  be  what  we  are  not  yet.  It  is  no  small  mercy  that  has 
saved  us,  and  we  are  the  more  confident  and  grateful  because  we  are 
saved  by  the  "abundant  mercy"  of  God.  He  has  plenty  of  mercy, 
and  there  is  no  fear  that  our  great  need  will  ever  exhaust  his  supply 
of  it.  For  this  reason  it  is  meet  that  we  should  give  him  i^raise  on 
every  remembrance  of  our  hope.  He  who  sends  praise  before  him 
as  a  forerunner  is  sure  to  be  honored  when  he  comes  before  God  in 
prayer. 

2.  The  living  hope. — This  note  of  praise  is  awakened  in  Peter's 
heart  by  the  thought  of  the  "  lively  hope  "  which  is  his  and  theirs. 
When  Jesus  appeared  among  the  Jewish  nation,  and  by  his  mighty 
words  and  deeds  gave  proof  that  he  was  a  "teacher  come  from  God," 


THE   INHERITANCE   OE    THE    SAINTS.  413 

the  hope  that  ho  was  the  true  Messiah  was  awakeued  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  became  his  disciples  (Luke  xxiv,  21) ;  but  his  untimely 
and  violent  death,  as  it  seemed  to  them,  had  destroyed  that  hope. 
Their  conception  of  the  hope  had  been  a  material  one,  and  they 
looked  for  an  earthly  kingdom  and  an  earthly  inheritance.  With 
the  death  and  burial  of  Jesus  their  hope  died,  and  was  buried  with 
him  in  Joseph's  tomb.  They  had  tenderly  loved  him,  they  had  con- 
fidently hoped  in  him;  but  what  could  a  dead  Christ  do  for  them? 
How  could  he  fulfill  to  them  and  in  them  all  the  glorious  promises  of 
God  spoken  by  the  prophets  of  old?  How  could  a  dead  man  (how- 
ever good  and  great  he  had  been  in  life)  serve  them?  It  was  a  black 
three  days  for  these  now  hopeless  disciples.  But  v/hen  on  the  third 
day  he  arose  from  the  dead  and  appeared  to  his  disciples,  opened  their 
eyes  and  taught  them  out  of  the  Scriptures,  the  law,  the  prophets,  and 
the  Psalms,  how  Christ  "ought  .  .  .  to  have  suffered  and  to  enter  into 
his  glory,"  and  that  through  his  death  he  was  to  bring  forth  an  eter- 
nal life  and  secure  to  them  an  inheritance  transcending  their  wild- 
est hopes,  then  indeed  God  begot  in  them  a  living  hope,  a  hope  that 
could  not  die  so  long  as  he  lived  who  was  the  author,  the  reason, 
and  the  substance  of  it.  This  is  what  Peter  means  by  the  "lively" 
or  living  hope,  and  this  is  why  he  associated  it  with  the  '^ resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead."  The  great  redemption  accom- 
plished by  his  death  was  the  ground  of  that  hope,  and  the  resurrec- 
tion was  its  guarantee.  Therefore  he  speaks  of  them  "who  by  him 
do  believe  in  God,  that  raised  him  up  from  the  dead,  and  gave  him 
glory ;  that  your  "  (their)  "  faith  and  hope  might  be  in  God."  (i,  21. ) 
This  hope  is  not  the  result  of  a  mere  logical  inference  or  conclusion, 
but  it  is  a  living  thing  begotten  or  born  in  us  by  the  energy  of  God, 
according  to  his  abundant  mercy. 

3.  The  inheritance. — When  God  brought  the  Hebrew  i^eople 
up  out  of  Egypt  he  gave  them  each  and  all  an  inheritance  in  the 
land,  and  in  connection  with  that  inheritance  he  established  by 
David  a  kingdom  and  a  glory  which  exceeded  that  of  all  other  nations 
and  people.  This  inheritance  had  been  invaded  by  their  powerful 
rivals  and  wrested  from  them,  their  kingdom  was  in  the  dust,  and 
the  hated  Romans  were  ruling  over  them.  This,  so  far  as  their  na- 
tional position  was  concerned.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  particular 
Jewish  Christians  were  at  present  dispersed  from  their  land,  and  in 
the  most  distressing  outward  circumstances.  Their  own  non-Chris- 
tian countrymen  had  persecuted  and  ostracized  them ;  they  had  been 
despoiled  of  their  goods  and  stricken  with  poverty.  Over  against 
all  this  Peter  reminds  them  of  the  inheritance  which  God  had  pre- 


414  THE   HEAVENLY  INHERITANCE. 

pared  for  them  in  connection  with  the  risen  Christ.  He  bids  them  lift 
their  eyes  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  there  behold  their  true  portion. 
This  inheritance  is  that  spoken  of  in  Matt,  vi,  20  ;  Luke  xii,  33  ;  x,  25  ; 
xviii,  22;  Mark  x,  17-21.  (i)  It  is  an  ''inheritance  incorruptible." 
It  cannot  be  affected  by  any  external  power  or  circumstances.  It  is 
in  heaven  (as  to  place),  and  eternal  (as  to  duration).  No  rust  can 
corrupt  it ;  no  moth  can  consume  it ;  no  thief  can  steal  it.  (ii)  It 
is  undefiled.  Their  earthly  inheritance  in  Canaan  was  defiled  with 
much  shedding  of  blood  and  with  the  grossest  sins,  both  of  theirs 
and  of  those  nations  which  invaded  and  defiled  it  with  their  abomi- 
nations. So,  indeed,  the  best  earthly  possessions  and  even  the  purest 
earthly  joys  are  more  or  less  defiled  with  the  sins  which  are  incident 
and  inseparable  from  our  unrenewed  nature ;  but  the  heavenly  in- 
heritance which  begins  with  that  eternal  life — "  the  gift  of  God  .  .  . 
through  Jesus  Christ" — and  is  consummated  and  perfected  amid  the 
glories  of  God,  is  incapable  of  defilement.  Nothing  can  enter  there 
which  ''worketh  abomination  or  maketh  a  lie."  (iii)  It  fadeth  not 
away.  All  earthly  possessions  are  ''temporary,"  and  perish  with  the 
using,  or  fade  away  from  our  possession  by  the  interposition  of 
death ;  but  this  inheritance  is  in  things  eternal,  which  endure  for- 
ever. The  joys  of  salvation  do  not  fade  away.  "We  have  them  even 
liere  in  part,  and  death  cannot  take  them  from  us  or  us  from  them, 
but  rather  opens  the  door  to  the  fuller  and  better  enjoyment  of  them. 
The  first  of  these  characteristics  of  the  heavenly  inheritance  "de- 
notes freedom  from  the  germs  of  destructibility  and  transit oriness, 
which  are  inseparable  from  all  earthly  things ;  the  second  denies  its 
liability  to  pollution  by  outward  sin ;  and  the  third,  even  the  altera- 
tion which  makes  the  beauty  of  earthly  things  pass  away."  If  there 
is  in  this  inheritance  also  an  intimation  of  a  more  earthly  character, 
it  points  to  that  renewed  and  regenerated  earth,  in  which  all  the 
perfections  of  heaven  shall  be  realized,  and  which  shall  be  the  in- 
heritance of  the  meek  in  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things. 
(Matt.  V,  5;  Acts  iii,  21.)  (iv)  For  the  ungodly  there  is  reserved 
only  "judgment,"  "everlasting  darkness,"  "fire,"  "chains";  and 
for  the  present  earth,  "fire"  (II.  Pet.  ii,  4,  17;  iii,  7;  Jude  6,  13); 
but  for  them  and  us  who  believe,  this  glorious  inheritance.  The 
sinner  is  going  on  through  this  world  with  his  pleasures  and  suffer- 
ings to  these  evil  things ;  while  the  believer  is  going  on  through  his 
sufferings  and  trials  to  all  these  good  things.  The  sinner  is  leaving 
all  his  possible  good  things  behind  him ;  but  the  saints  are  leaving 
all  their  evil  things  behind  fltem. 

4.  Kept  of  God.— If  the  thought  of  their  pi'esent  great  trials 


TRIAL   OF   THEIR   FAITH.  415 

and  temptations  in  connection  with  the  future  character  of  their  in- 
heritance should  or  did  awaken  in  their  hearts  the  fear  that  they 
might  at  last  fail  of  reaching  or  attaining  unto  the  full  possession,  he 
reminds  them  that  in  the  mean  time  ''they  are  kept"  (i)  "By  the 
power  of  God"  (Jude  24),  and  the  ''word  of  his  grace,"  which  in  the 
mean  time  guarantees  the  possession,  and  is  able  to  give  the  inherit- 
ance as  well  as  to  sanctify  and  prepare  them  for  it.  (Acts  xx,  32. ) 
(ii)  Not  arbitrarily,  but  through  their  active  and  living  faith,  (iii) 
This  salvation  is  all  prepared  and  ready.  It  is  not  yet  revealed 
(I.  John  iii,  2),  but  it  is  "ready  to  be  revealed"  at  the  end  of  this 
age.  No  more  long  dispensations  will  intervene  before  the  saints 
come  into  possession.  The  time  is  at  hand.  Readiness  implies  a 
momentary  expectation  of  revelation.  The  speedy  coming  of  our 
Lord  was  the  hope  of  the  early  church,  and  it  should  be  our  instant 
expectation. 

5.  Triumphant  joy. — In  this  great  hope  and  expectation  they 
were  warranted  to  "greatly  rejoice,"  and  he  trusted  they  did  really 
rejoice,  though  just  now,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact,  they  were  "in 
heaviness  through  manifold  trials."  These  sufferings  had  a  "need 
be  "  in  them ;  let  them  not  be  discouraged,  for  God  foreknew  it  all 
when  he  called  them,  and  is  well  able  to  make  them  work  together 
for  their  good.  The  sun  was  for  a  moment,  a  mere  season,  behind 
a  cloud  of  af9.ictions,  but  presently  it  would  burst  out  in  glory  upon 
them. 

III.— TRIAL   OF   THEIR  FAITH. 

He  next  proceeds  to  show  them  that  their  present  sufferings  were 
not  without  their  uses,  and,  as  he  had  already  intimated,  had  a 
"  need  be  "  in  them,  which  he  now  points  out  to  them. 

1.  The  master  grace.— He  had  in  the  beginning  wished  them 
"great  grace."  The  chiefest  grace  that  God  has  given  us  is  faith, 
that  power  of  mind  and  heart  by  which  we  take  hold  of  God  through 
Christ,  and  of  all  things  in  him.  This  great  gi-ace  he  tells  us  is  (i) 
"  more  precious  than  of  gold,"  even  than  refined  gold.  With  gold  man 
can  buy  almost  any  earthly  possessions  and  pleasures.  Just  now 
they  were  in  poverty,  but  they  had  something  more  precious  than 
gold,  with  which  they  satisfied  themselves  with  possessions  such  as 
earth  could  not  furnish,  nor  the  finest  gold  buy.  Let  them  traffic  in 
these  high  things  with  this  more  precious  coin,  (ii)  Their  faith  was 
by  these  trials  being  purified.  This  was  one  of  the  ends  God  had  in 
view  in  suffering  these  trials  to  come  upon  them.  In  these  trials 
their  faith  would  be  purified.     The  alloy  of  mere  earthly  motive  and 


416  THE   HEAVENLY  INHERITANCE. 

intellectual  uppreheiision  would  l>e  piu-gecl  from  it.  (iii)  A  glorified 
faith..  When  gold  comes  out  of  the  crucible  it  is  seen  to  be  much 
finer  than  when  it  went  in,  and  its  beauty  is  enhanced  and  its  pur- 
chasing power  increased.  So  when  faith  is  tried  in  the  fire  of  afflic- 
tion, it  comes  out  purged,  purified,  and  more  valuable  for  heavenly 
traffic.  "Unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory,"  may  refer  both  to  the 
quality  of  the  faith  after  purification  and  to  the  results  of  sucli  a 
faith  procured  to  the  believer.  Therefore,  instead  of  being  discour- 
aged and  disheartened  by  trials,  let  iis  rejoice  in  them  if  this  is  to  be 
the  end. 

2.  Kejcicing  in  Christ  the  end  of  faith. — The  Apostle  tells 
them  of  the  "appearing  of  oiu'  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  "When  he  shall 
appear,  we  shall  be  like  him."  (I.  John  iii,  2,  3.)  Then  it  will  appear 
that  these  trials  were  all  lo\dngly  adapted  to  "the  end  of  our  faith," 
which  is  the  salvation  of  our  souls.  Though  this  salvation  is  not  yet 
completed,  faith  lays  hold  of  it  and  receives  it  even  now.  It  is  all 
wrapped  up  in  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  they  had  heard,  and  in  whom 
they  believed,  though  they  had  never  seen  him.  Nevertheless  they 
loved  him  and  in  him  rejoiced  ci'cn  noii\  ''with  joy  unsi3eakable  and 
full  of  glor5^"  Here  there  is  certainly  a  reference  to  those  blessed 
words  of  Christ  to  Thomas,  v/hicli  Peter  vividly  remembered,  ha.ving 
been  present  on  that  occasion  :  "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen, 
and  yet  have  believed,"     (John  xx,  29.) 

IV.— THE   SUFFERINGS  AND   GLORY   OF   CHRIST. 

The  salvation  of  which  he  is  speaking  was  procured  for  us  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  they  were  now  suffering  through  trials,  let 
them  not  forget  that  their  gi'eat  Saviour  had  procured  salvation  for 
them  at  infinite  cost  of  suffering.  He  entered  into  his  glory  through 
sufferings  :  let  them  be  patient  and  rejoicing  if  they  must  needs  come 
to  theirs  over  the  same  road.  "For  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him"  he  " endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God,"  waiting  to  receive  and  wel- 
come them  into  the  same  glory  with  him.  Of  this  salvation  he  would 
have  them  know  that  it  was  no  new  and  sudden  thing,  the  evolution 
of  recent  and  fortuitous  conditions,  but  was  long  ago  promised,  the 
bright  dawn  of  w^hich  was  but  faintly  seen  by  the  prophets  of  old,  in 
whom  the  Spirit  of  Christ  wrought  the  earlier  revelations.  So  glo- 
rious were  even  the  distant  rays  of  it,  that  the  prophets  w^lio  spoke  of 
the  grace  reserved  for  us  believers  were  led  anxiously  to  search  into 
its  hidden  mysteries,  though  it  was  not  given  them  fully  to  compre- 


THE   SUFFERINGS  AND   GLORY   OF   CHRIST.         417 

hend  it.  They  did  but  minister  to  us  the  things  which  are  now 
preached  unto  us,  concerning  the  sufferings  and  glory  of  Christ,  with- 
out fully  understanding  them.  Besides  this,  we  have  a  gift  which 
they  had  no^— "the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven"  to  illuminate 
our  minds,  and  to  make  good  in  us  the  fruits  of  Christ's  suffering  and 
glory.  Even  the  angels  of  heaven  desired  to  look  into  these  things, 
so  greatly  was  their  holy  curiosity  aroused,  to  understand  what  God 
was  preparing  for  us,  at  such  cost  of  suffering  on  Christ's  part. 
Surely  the  beUever  is  a  favored  one  ;  and  knowing  all  these  things,  he 
ought  to  bear  up  without  murmuring  or  doubting  under  his  present 
trials,  which  without  "the  lively  hope  "  would  indeed  be  unbearable, 
but  with  it,  and  the  love  of  Christ  present  with  us,  are  things  to  be 
welcomed  and  used  for  the  perfecting  of  faith. 


LI. 

THE   GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR— Rev.  i,  9-20. 

(9)  I  John,  who  also  am  your  brother,  and  companion  in  tribulation, 
and  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  Avas  in  the  isle  that  is 
called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ. 
(10)  I  Avas  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  heard  behind  me  a  great 
voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  (11)  Saying,  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and 
the  last :  and,  What  thou  seest,  Avrite  in  a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  scA^en 
churches  which  are  in  Asia;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto 
Pergamos,  and  unto  Thyatira,  and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto  Philadelphia, 
and  unto  Laodicea.  (12)  And  I  turned  to  see  the  A^oice  that  spake  Avith  me. 
And  being  turned,  I  saAV  scA'en  golden  candlesticks ;  (13)  And  in  the  midst 
of  the  scA'en  candlesticks  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  clothed  AA'ith  a  gar- 
ment doAvn  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  AAath  a  golden  girdle.  (U) 
His  head  and  his  hairs  AA'crc  AA'hite  like  aa^ooI,  as  Avhite  as  snow ;  and  his  eyes 
were  as  a  flame  of  fire ;  (1.5)  And  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they 
burned  in  a  furnace ;  and  his  A^oice  as  the  sound  of  many  Avaters.  (IG)  And 
he  had  in  his  right  hand  scA^en  stars:  and  out  of  his  mouth  AA^ent  a  sharp 
twoedged  SAvord:  and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his 
strength.  (IT)  And  AA'hen  I  saAA'  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead.  And  he  laid 
his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto  me.  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the 
last:  (18)  I  am  he  that  liAeth,  and  AA-as  dead;  and,  behold,  I  am  allA-e  for 
evermore.  Amen ;  and  haA^c  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death.  (19)  Write  the 
things  AA'hich  thou  hast  seen,  and  the  things  which  are,  and  the  things 
Avhich  shall  be  hereafter ;  (20)  The  mystery  of  the  scA^en  stars  AA'hich  thou 
sawest  in  my  right  hand,  and  the  scA^en  golden  candlesticks.  The  scA'en 
stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches:  and  the  seven  candlesticks 
Avhich  thou  sawest  are  the  seA^en  churches.— Re A^  i,  9-20. 

If  tlie  Bible  is  a  unique  book  among  all  the  books  of  the  world, 
surely  the  Revelation  is  unique  among  the  various  books  of  the  Bible. 
One  of  the  best  authenticated  of  the  New  Testament  writings,  it 
had  to  light  hardest  for  a  place  in  the  New  Testament  Canon.  It  is 
the  one  book  which  pronounces  a  blessing  upon  him  who  reads  it 
and  upon  them  who  hear  it  read,  and  who  heep  the  things  that  are 
Avritten  therein,  (i,  3.)  At  the  same  time  it  pronounces  a  curse 
upon  him  that  adds  to,  or  takes  from,  the  prophecies  contained 
therein.  "  If  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  Avords  of  the  book 
of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  liis  part  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written 
in  this  book."  (xxii,  19.)  These  two  sayings,  one  standing  at  the 
opening  and  the  other  at  the  close  of  the  book,  give  to  it  a  peculiar 

418 


THE  GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR.  419 

solemnity.  It  was  evidently  intended  that  it  should  be  much  read, 
attentively  listened  to,  and  its  contents  reverently  laid  up  and  kept 
in  the  heart.  This  book  has  been  perhaps  more  commented  upon 
and  less  understood  than  any  other  book  of  the  Bible.  There  is 
probably  a  greater  variety  and  a  wider  difference  in  the  interpreta- 
tions of  its  contents  than  appertain  to  any  other  of  the  sacred  writ- 
ings. That  it  has  a  majesty  of  composition,  gi-andeur  and  boldness 
of  style  and  imagery,  is  apparent  on  the  most  casual  reading.  That 
it  is  carefully  composed  upon  a  most  certain  plan  is  also  apparent. 
In  no  sense  can  it  be  charged  upon  it  with  truth  that  it  is  the  wild 
and  frenzied  utterances  of  a  fanatic.  It  moves  forward  with  a  steady 
and  majestic  tread,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  The  first  and 
the  last  chapters  are  very  beautiful,  and  easily  understood ;  but  the 
middle  part  of  the  book  is  very  perplexing.  It  is  confessedly  a  mys- 
tery, and  most  students  have  found  it  a  riddle ;  yet  it  claims  and 
chains  the  attention  of  the  student  once  it  has  been  fairly  and  hon- 
estly read.  I  once  heard  an  old  negro  preacher  in  the  South  say 
that  it  was  "like  the  battle  of  Manassas.  It  opens  all  simple  and 
plain  enough,  with  the  bands  playing,  and  the  flags  flying,  and  all 
the  soldiers  m.arching  steadily  and  in  order;  then  comes  the  firing 
of  a  few  guns,  the  sounding  of  trumpets,  the  bursting  of  woes,  and 
the  awful  storm  and  confusion  of  war,  the  smoke  and  darkness,  out 
of  which  came  the  noise  of  battle  and  shrieks  and  groans  of  the 
wounded  and  dying.  Then  at  the  twentieth  chapter  the  battle  is 
over,  the  smoke  has  cleared  away,  and  the  reader  enters  heaven 
with  victory  in  his  hand."  It  was  a  grotesque  illustration,  and  yet 
not  far  from  the  mark.  Certainly  it  is  a  book  to  stimulate  the  Chris- 
tian heart.  There  is  a  sense  of  dreadful  things  to  come,  and  just 
ahead  of  us  ;  but  there  is  also  the  sense  that  God  and  Christ  are  in 
the  midst  of  these  momentous  events,  having  all  things  in  hand,  and 
that  out  of  it  all  glorious  things  are  coming  to  his  Church  and  people. 
Its  warp  is  essentially  Jewish,  and  its  form  that  of  an  apocalypse, 
or  revelation.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the  books  of  Leviticus  and 
Daniel.  It  clearly  states,  and  assumes  to  be  essential,  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  incarnation,  the  atonement,  and  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  makes  union  with  him  the  essential  thing  in  the 
life  of  God's  people.  In  all  its  chapters  Jesus  appears  "in  power 
and  great  glory."  The  whole  book  is  an  exposition  of  his  triumph 
and  glorious  exaltation,  and  in  reading  it  one  is  filled  with  a  desire 
to  be  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  with  him  in  his  battles  and  victories. 
It  makes  one  afraid  of  sin,  and  fills  one  with  hatred  and  loathing  for 
it.     It  makes  the  present  time  seem  very  uncertain  and  unsatisfac- 


420  THE  GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR. 

tory,  and  awakens  a  longing  desire  for  the  ushering  in  of  ''the  new- 
heavens  and  the  new  earth."  It  was  written  to  comfort  and  edify 
the  churches  of  Asia  and  all  Christian  churches  in  all  ages,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  warn  them  against  false  doctrine,  worldly  living, 
and  corrupting  fellowships.  It  opens  with  a  brief  prelude,  extend- 
ing from  the  fii'st  to  the  third  verse,  which  latter  is  a  beatitude  upon 
the  reader  and  the  hearer.  Then  comes  the  salutation  of  John,  the 
writer  of  the  book,  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  verses.  After  that 
(from  the  seventh  to  the  eighth)  is  the  announcement  of  the  theme 
of  the  book,  which  is  the  "coming  of  the  Lord."  "Behold,  he  Com- 
eth with  clouds."  In  this  and  throughout  the  whole  book  we  see 
a  striking  fulfillment  in  prophecy  of  that  which  Jesus  said  to  the 
Sanhedrim  at  the  time  of  his  con-demnation  by  them  on  the  charge 
of  blasphemy :  ''Nevertheless  I  say  unto  you,  Hereafter  shall  ye  see 
the  Son  of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven."     (Matt,  xxvi,  64.) 

I.— JOHN  IN  THE   SPIRIT. 

Having  announced  the  theme  of  the  book,  John  proceeds  to  tell 
us  how  he  came  to  receive  the  revelation.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say  that  this  John  was  the  "beloved  disciple,"  the  author  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  epistles  which  go  by  his  name. 

1.  "I,  John." — He  thus  introduces  himself  to  "the  angels"  to 
whom  this  letter  or  revelation  was  addressed.  The  form  is  said  to 
be  that  peculiar  to  the  apocalyptic  calling.  The  same  form  of  ego- 
ism appears  in  Daniel,  (vii,  15;  viii,  1;  ix,  2;  x,  2 ;  xii,  5.)  This 
egoism  is  not  "  egotism  "  in  the  offensive  sense  of  that  word,  but  is 
the  peculiar  style  of  the  apocalyptist,  the  one  who  stands  between 
the  Revealer  and  those  to  whom  the  revelation  is  sent.  It  is  a  form 
of  self-designation  peculiar  to  Daniel  and  John  alone.  It  does  not 
imply  any  original  authority  or  peculiar  knowledge,  but  simply  that 
they  are  the  bearers  of  a  particular  message. 

2.  "  Your  brother  and  companion." — This  further  designation 
of  himself  indicates  a  lowly  humility,  the  farthest  removed  from  any 
vain  egotism  which  any  might  fancy  was  contained  in  the  opening 
announcement.  He  asserts  his  brotherhood  both  with  the  particular 
persons  to  whom  the  revelation  is  addressed  and  with  the  churches 
for  whose  benefit  it  was  given.  The  basis  of  this  brotherhood  is 
found  in  Jesus,  who  is  the  common  head  of  all  the  family  of  God. 
We  "are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus."  If  all 
are  children  of  God,  then  are  we  all  brothers.     But  he  was  more 


JOHN  IN   THE    SPIRIT.  421 

than  a  brother,  he  was  their  companion — that  is,  he  was  peculiarly 
associated  with  them  in  the  circumstances  which  formed  their  pres- 
ent environment.  It  would  seem  that  the  churches,  or  at  least  cer- 
tain believers  and  principal  men  in  the  churches,  such  as  the  pastors 
and  elders,  were  suffering  under  the  pressure  of  some  kind  of  perse- 
cution. He  was  their  "  companion  in  tribulation."  This  tribulation 
was  clearly  some  form  of  trial  brought  upon  him  and  them  in  con- 
nection with  their  devotion  to  Christ  and  the  interest  of  his  kingdom. 
Jesus  had  during  his  earthly  ministry  frequently  warned  his  dis- 
ciples, ''In  this  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,"  and  that  for  his 
sake  and  the  Gospel's  they  would  be  called  upon  to  forsake  father 
and  mother,  and  brethren  and  sisters,  and  houses  and  lands  ;  never- 
theless such  tribulation  would  not  go  unrecognized  or  even  unre- 
warded, botH  here  and  hereafter.  John  adds  that  the  tribulation 
which  many  of  them  were  then  enduring  was  being  endured  patient- 
ly ;  that  is,  with  brave  and  heroic  steadiness,  no  complaint  or  repin- 
ing, but  patience  and  endurance  not  born  of  human  nature,  but  as 
it  were  communicated  by  Jesus  Christ  himself.  They  were,  after 
all,  but  walking  in  the  path  which  their  Master  had  trod  before 
them.  What  a  comfort  that  we  may  look  to  Jesus,  who  for  our 
sakes  "endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,"  and  who  in  this 
respect  is  ''the  author  and  finisher  of  "  (that)  " faith "  which  endured 
steadfast  to  the  end. 

3.  In  the  isle  of  Patmos.— At  this  time  John  is  supposed  to 
have  been  in  banishment  from  Ephesus,  where  for  many  years  he 
h^d  been  the  pastor  and  possibly  the  bishop  of  the  wide  district  sur- 
rounding that  chief  city.  Some  have  contended  that  he  was  even 
a  slave  in  the  galleys  or  in  the  mines,  but  this  does  not  appear 
from  anything  v/hich  is  said,  either  in  this  or  in  any  other  book  of 
the  New  Testament.  The  apostles  were  all  sufferers  for  Christ's 
sake  and  the  Gospel's,  but  they  did  not  spread  abroad  their  suffer- 
ings or  make  a  spectacle  of  them,  even  when  it  was  necessary  to 
allude  to  them.  This  is  a  part  of  patient  endurance,  which  becomes 
God's  servants  and  the  disciples  of  Christ.  (Is.  liii,  7.)  "If,  when 
ye  do  well,  and  suffer  for  it,  ye  take  it  patiently,  this  is  acceptable 
with  God."  (I.  Pet.  ii,  20.)  These  were  those  to  whom  this  revela- 
tion was  directed,  who  were,  with  John,  suffering  patiently  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  for  which  Jesus  gave  them  words  of 
commendation.  (Rev.  ii,  2;  iii,  10;  xiii,  10;  xiv,  12.)  It  is  equally 
pleasing  to  Christ  if  we  thus  take  patiently  the  ordinary  afflictions 
and  trials  of  life.  We  have  all  of  us  thus  an  opportunity  of  being 
true  companions  of  these  early  (and  some  later)  witnesses  for  Jesus. 


422  THE  GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR. 

John  tells  us  distinctly  that  he  was  at  that  time  in  the  isle  of  Patmos 
"for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ."  Not 
for  the  purpose  of  preaching  and  testifying  the  Gospel  there ;  but 
because  he  had  preached  and  testified  the  word  of  God  and  given  tes- 
timony for  Jesus,  he  had  been  sent  to  the  island  as  a  punishment  by 
the  world-power  which  then  surrounded  the  churches  and  persecuted 
believers,  especially  those  who  were  conspicuous  leaders.  It  is  our 
privilege  to  be  intimately  associated  with  our  Lord  himself  in  thus 
faithfully  witnessing  for  him,  even  at  the  hazard  and  actual  experi- 
ence of  persecution.  He  was  the  great  witness  for  God.  (John 
xviii,  37 ;  I.  Tim.  vi,  13 ;  Luke  xxiv,  48 ;  Rom.  viii,  17 ;  II.  Tim.  ii, 
12.) 

4.  "In  the  Spirit." — He  describes  the  state  of  mind  he  was  in 
at  the  time  the  revelation  came  to  him.  "  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day."  When  one  is  in  an  ordinary  and  normal  state  of  con- 
sciousness, he  holds  intercourse  with  the  external  world  through  the 
medium  of  the  senses ;  but  on  this  day  he  was,  so  to  speak,  trans- 
I>orted  out  of  his  ordinary  senses,  and,  without  the  intervention  of 
them,  was  in  a  kind  of  rapture  which  enabled  him  to  hold  intercourse 
with  that  world  which  is  not  perceived  by  the  senses.  In  such  a  state 
was  Paul,  "whether  in  the  body  ...  or  whether  out  of  the  body"  he 
knew  not.  (II.  Cor.  xii,  2.)  It  was  a  state  of  consciousness  which 
rendered  him  peculiarly  fit  to  receive  communications  from  God,  or 
to  look  into  mysteries  which  are  hidden  from  those  of  us  who  can 
only  obtain  knowledge  of  things  through  our  senses.  (I.  Cor.  xiv,  2 ; 
Ezek.  ii,  2. )  This  is  the  prophetic  state  of  mind,  that  state  of  mind 
in  which  the  spirit  of  man  and  the  Spirit  of  God  commune  directly 
with  each  other,  and  not  by  means  of  the  physical  organs.  This  is 
one  of  the  strong  testimonies  to  the  essential  independence  of  the 
spirit  of  man,  from  his  present  bodily  condition.  This  bodily  condi- 
tion is  not  necessary  either  to  existence  or  to  consciousness.  It  was 
on  the  Lord's  day,  the  day  made  sacred  forever  by  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  and  which  gradually  superseded  the  old  Jewish  Sab- 
bath as  the  day  consecrated  to  God  and  rest. 

II.— WHAT   HE   SAW  AND   HEARD. 

While  in  this  state  of  rapture  from  the  bodily  senses  he  heard  a 
great  voice  behind  him,  as  the  voice  of  a  trumpet.  This  voice  ar- 
rested his  attention,  and  he  listened  to  hear  what  it  would  say,  much 
as  Moses  while  in  his  natural  state  of  consciousness  saw  the  wonders 
of  the  Bush  that  burned  and  was  not  consumed.     (Ex.  iii,  2,  3.) 


WHAT   HE   SAW  AND   HEARD.  423 

1.  What  lie  lieard. — What  lie  lieard  was  this  :  (i)  "I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last."  The  commentary  on  this  desig- 
nation which  the  mysterious  Speaker  used  of  himself  is  to  be  found 
in  the  eighth  verse  of  this  chapter,  and  also  at  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth vei'ses  of  the  twenty-second  chapter.  It  is  one  of  those  desig- 
nations by  which  God  describes  himself  as  the  all-inclusive  being. 
Before  him  there  is  nothing,  and  beyond  him  there  is  nothing.  It  is 
the  equivalent  to  that  other  mysterious  name  of  God :  ^^  I  AM  THAT 
I  AM."  (Ex.  iii,  14;  Is.  xliv,  6.)  It  was  now  clear  to  John  that  the 
being  who  was  speaking  with  him  was  none  other  than  God  himself. 
The  identification  of  this  being  with  Jesus  is  the  clear  proof  of  his 
Godhead.  For  a  mere  creature,  however  great  and  good,  to  have 
taken  this  title  would  have  indeed  been  a  blasphemy  which  would 
have  justified  the  Jews  in  rejecting  him  and  even  in  putting  him  to 
death.  Though  as  to  his  human  natm-e  or  his  manifestation  in  in- 
carnation he  is  said  to  have  proceeded  forth  from  the  Father,  he  yet 
was  so  "  one  with  the  Father  "  in  the  essence  of  his  being  that  he 
was  God  in  all  fullness,  (ii)  He  next  received  this  great  commission : 
"^\1iat  thou  seest,  wi'ite  in  a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  seven 
churches  which  are  in  Asia."  This  communication  was  all  so  quickly 
given,  that,  as  it  were,  filled  with  awe,  John  did  not  look  about  him, 
or  make  any  attempt  to  see  who  it  was  that  was  speaking.  But  now 
came  a  pause,  as  if  inviting  him  to  turn  about  and  see,  which  he  then 
did. 

2.  What  John  saw. — Turning  about  to  see,  there  rose  upon  his 
vision  a  sight  which  was  at  once  a  symbol  and  a  glory,  which  entered 
deeply  into  the  later  communications  which  he  received,  and  formed 
the  basis  of  the  whole  Revelation,  (i)  The  seven  golden  candlesticks. 
We  are  at  once  reminded  of  the  golden  candlestick  which  formed  a 
part  of  the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness  (Ex.  xxv, 
31,  32),  but  more  especially  of  the  vision  of  the  golden  candlestick 
seen  by  Zechariah  and  recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  his  prophecy. 
We  know  that  these  candlesticks  were  the  symbolic  representations 
of  the  seven  churches  to  whom  the  message  was  to  be  sent.  God's 
people  are  his  light-bearers,  and  the  churches  of  Christ  are  especially 
the  great  lights  of  the  world— not^that  they  are  lights  in  themselves, 
but  that  they  give  forth  the  light  of  him  who  is  "the  Light  of  the 
world."  That  they  are  golden  candlesticks  is  the  declaration  of  the 
new  nature  which  all  believers  have  received  from  the  Lord.  These 
candlesticks  seem  to  have  been  individual,  and  not  collective  (as 
was  the  candlestick  in  the  tabernacle).  This  may  suggest  the  au- 
tonomy of  the  individual  churches,  as  over  against  the  idea  of  an 


424  THE   GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR. 

ecclesiastical  and  ornjaiiic  unity  of  the  congregations  as  under  mod- 
ern episcopal  order,  (ii)  John  saw  walking  in  the  midst  of  these 
candlesticks  "one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  clothed  with  a  garment 
down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a  golden  girdle." 
"The  Son  of  man"  indicates  who  this  glorious  person  was  (Dan.  vii, 
9-13 ;  X,  5,  6 ;  Matt,  xxvi,  64) ;  and  his  position  in  the  midst  of  the 
candlesticks  shows  Christ's  relation  to  the  churches — always  with 
them,  always  in  their  midst,  their  true  Head  and  Shepherd.  Ho  is 
not  far  away  from  his  churches,  though  he  is,  as  to  his  glorified 
body,  in  heaven.  ^'Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway."  (Matt,  xxviii,  20.) 
(iii)  The  appearance  of  the  Son  of  man.  (a)  His  clothing  de- 
noted his  kingly  and  priestly  office :  the  garment  flowing  from 
the  shoulders  to  the  feet  was  the  robe  of  the  high-priest,  and 
the  golden  girdle  was  the  badge  of  a  king.  Christ  is  both  Priest 
and  King  to  his  people,  and  even  makes  them  so  also  in  their 
union  and  identification  with  him.  (v.  6.)  He  is  in  the  midst  of 
his  Church  to  intercede  for  it,  and  to  defend  and  rule  over  it.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  every  and  each  individual 
believer.  (&)  "His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like  wool,  as 
white  as  snow."  This  is  symbolic  of  his  eternity  and  the  purity  of 
his  glory.  "We  easily  identify  this  appearance  both  with  "the  An- 
cient of  Days "  of  Daniel  (vii,  9),  and  the  glorious  radiancy  which 
we  saw  in  connection  with  his  transfiguration.     (Matt,  xvii,  1-5.) 

(c)  "His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire."  Here  we  have  searching 
omniscience.  His  message  to  the  churches  was  one  of  rebuke  and 
judgment.  Their  spiritual  condition  was  perfectly  known  to  him. 
His  eyes  pierced  to  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  their  hearts,  and 
their  whole  state  was  naked  and  exposed  to  his  sight.     (Heb.  iv,  13.) 

(d)  "And  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass."  Here  we  have  strength  and 
stability.  The  great  image  which  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  in  his  vision 
had  feet  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay,  denoting  weakness  and 
powerlessness  t^  tread  down  his  foes.  But  Christ  is  full  of  strength 
and  power,  and  when  he  walks  forth  to  conquer  and  subdue  there 
will  be  no  weakness  in  his  feet.     (Ps.  Ix,  12 ;  Is.  Ixiii,  6 ;  Dan.  x,  6.) 

(e)  "His  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters."  This  seems  to  denote 
the  authority  of  Christ's  word  throughout  the  whole  world.  As  the 
voice  of  the  many  oceans  of  the  earth  is  heard  lapping  all  the  shores 
of  every  land  and  nation,  so  the  voice  of  Christ,  like  water,  breaks 
upon  all  shores,  and  comes  with  authority  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth ;  first  in  good  tidings,  and  after  in  judgment.  The  later  rev- 
elations in  this  book  will  show  the  significance  of  this  symbol.  (/) 
"And  he  had  in  his  right  hand  seven  stars."    These  were  probably 


WHAT   HE   SAW  AND   HEARD.  425 

strung  as  on  a  bracelet,  or  necklace,  or  a  eliaplet.  The  meaning  of 
these,  as  of  the  seven  candlesticks,  is  expounded  to  us  by  Christ 
himself.  ''The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches." 
(v.  20.)  These  angels  can  mean  nothing  else  than  the  pastors 
or  overseers  of  the  churches,  to  whom  the  revelation  was  to  be 
committed  by  John,  and  who  were  in  Christ's  hands,  as  in  his  power 
and  authority,  who  would  hold  them  to  an  account  for  their  steward- 
ship. (I.  Cor.  iii,  7-15;  H.  Cor.  vi,  1-4.)  {g)  ''And  out  of  his 
mouth  went  a  sharp  two-edged  sword."  This  symbolizes  the  Word 
of  God,  which  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  which  is  the  searcher 
of  all  hearts  (Heb.  iv,  12),  and  the  rule  by  which  the  judgment 
of  Christ  will  be  administered.  (John  xii,  47-50.)  {h)  "And  his 
countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength."  There  is  no 
description  of  the  features  of  Christ,  only  a  general  impression  of  the 
glory  of  it.  It  cannot  be  described;  but  this  appearance  seems 
identical  with  the  appearance  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration. 
(Matt,  xvii,  2. )  For  the  whole  appearance  of  this  vision  of  the  glory 
of  Christ  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  tenth  chapter  of  Daniel,  with 
which  it  may  be  profitably  compared.  Perhaps  John  had  this,  to- 
gether with  the  transfiguration  vision,  in  mind  when  he  wrote  his 
Gospel  after  this,  in  which  he  says  :  "We  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory 
as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father."     (John  i,  14.) 

3.  The  effect  of  the  vision  upon  John. — When  John  saw  this 
glorious  vision,  the  effect  of  the  dazzling  glory  of  it,  and  the  convic- 
tion that  he  was  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  was  so  great  that 
he  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead.  He  had  once  before  experienced  the 
same  thing  (Matt,  xvii,  6),  though  this  time  the  effect  was  more 
marked.  Before  they  had  simply  been  afraid ;  now  here,  alone  with 
this  superior  glory,  he  fell  down  as  dead.  The  effect  upon  a  sinful 
man,  when  he  first  gets  a  glimpse  of  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer  and 
the  fact  of  his  true  Godhead,  is  to  send  him  to  lie  at  his  feet.  How 
can  a  sinful  man  behold  the  glory  of  God  and  live?     (Luke  v,  8.) 

4.  What  Jesus  said  and  did  to  John. — The  first  thing  Jesus 
did  was  to  reassure  his  servant.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  him,  and 
said,  "Fear  not."  This  is  the  word  of  merciful  assurance  and  com- 
fort which  rings  throughout  the  whole  Gospel.  When  a  man  is  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  sinner  though  he  may  be,  the  only  word  which 
Jesus  will  say  is  one  of  hope  and  encouragement :  "Fear  not."  The 
laying  of  his  hand  upon  him  was  a  sign  of  fellowship  and  tender 
power  put  forth  to  save.  (Matt,  viii,  3;  Mark  i,  40;  Luke  v,  13.) 
He  now  explains  to  John  who  he  is,  as  if  to  give  a  double  assurance^ 
by  symbol  and  by  word,     (i)  He  repeats  that  he  is  "  the  first  and 


'426  THE   GLORIFIED   SAVIOUR. 

the  last,"  tlms  claiming  for  himself  the  Godhead,  (ii)  Lest  John 
should  mistake  by  this,  and  think  that  he  was  not  the  Saviour  whom 
he  had  known  in  the  flesh,  he  assures  him  that  he  is  the  same  who 
"was  dead,"  but  now  further  that  he  "is  alive  forevermore,  Amen." 
This  is  surely  true.  Then  he  tells  him  that  he  has  the  keys  of  death 
and  hell,  that  is,  the  grave.  This  is  only  a  repetition  of  what  he 
had  told  his  disciples  at  the  time  he  gave  them  their  commission  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."  To  this  is  now  added  that  he  holds  absolutely  the  authority 
over  death  and  the  underworld.  By  his  death  and  resurrection  he 
triumphed  over  both  death  and  the  grave,  and  has,  as  the  Son 
of  man,  absolute  authority  here  as  well  as  in  earth  and  in  heaven. 
He  has  power  to  redeem  men  from  death  and  the  grave,  and  he  has 
power  to  cast  men  into  hell  through  death  and  the  gi'ave.  He  only 
is  possessed  of  this  power,     (iii,  7 ;  ix,  1 ;  xx,  1.) 

5.  John's  commission. — Christ  now  bids  John  to  write  what  he 
had  '^seen,  and  the  things  which  are";  that  is,  what  these  things 
signify  which  he  had  just  now  seen,  and  which  are  as  he  had  seen 
them;  namely,  the  truth  of  Christ's  proper  deity  and  his  relation 
to  the  churches  and  the  pastors ;  his  disposition  toward  those  ser- 
vants of  his,  who,  like  John,  fall  at  his  feet ;  of  the  fact  of  his  sur- 
vival from  death,  and  his  ''evermore"  life  as  the  Son  of  man;  his 
possession  of  the  keys;  and  also  ''the  things  w^hich  shall  be  here- 
after " ;  that  is,  those  things  which  later  on  Christ  would  show  him 
as  about  to  come  to  pass.  Then  follows  the  interpretation  of  that 
part  of  the  symbolic  vision  which  relates  to  the  church  and  the  min- 
isters, the  candlesticks  and  the  angels,  which  we  have  already  no- 
ticed. This  symbolic  vision  must  be  carried  in  mind  all  through  the 
book  as  a  key  with  which  to  help  us  to  unravel  the  mystery  and 
divine  riddle  contained  in  the  succeeding  chapters  of  this  wonderful 
book.  Only  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  can  enable  us  to  do  this. 


LII. 

THE    BIRTH    OF  JESUS,— Matt,  ii,    i-i  i. 

(1)  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethleliem  of  Judea  in  the  days  of 
Herod  the  king,  behold,  there  came  wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 
(3)  Saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?  for  we  have  seen  his 
star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worship  him.  (3)  When  Herod  the  king 
had  heard  these  things,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  (1) 
And  when  he  had  gathered  all  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  of  the  people 
together,  he  demanded  of  them  where  Christ  should  be  born.  (i">)  And  they 
said  unto  him,  In  Bethlehem  of  Judea :  for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet, 
(6)  And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not  the  least  among  the 
princes  of  Juda :  for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my 
people  Israel.  (7)  Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the  wise  men, 
inquired  of  them  diligently  what  time  the  star  appeared.  (8)  And  he  sent 
them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said.  Go  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child; 
and  when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again,  that  I  may  come  and 
worship  him  also.  (9)  When  they  had  heard  the  king,  they  departed ;  and, 
lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them,  till  it  came  and 
stood  over  where  the  young  child  was.  (10)  W^hen  they  saw  the  star,  they 
rejoiced  with  exceeding  great  joy.  (11)  And  when  they  were  come  into  the 
house,  they  saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  his  mother,  and  fell  down,  and 
worshipped  him:  and  when  they  had  opened  their  treasures,  they  presented 
unto  him  gifts;  gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh.— Matt,  ii,  1-11. 

The  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  seemed  to  set  heaven  and  earth  in  mo- 
tion around  him.  Angels  from  the  skies  came  to  announce  his  birth, 
and  filled  the  earth  with  a  new  song.  Stars  moved  in  their  courses 
to  guide  wise  men  from  the  East  to  his  feet.  Shepherds  and  as- 
trologers, holy  men  of  Judea  of  lowly  birth,  and  wise  men  from  the 
East  of  exalted  position,  alike  led  by  a  Providence  working  from 
within  and  from  without,  came  to  worship  him.  The  worldly  old 
Idumean  king  "is  moved  with  fear,"  and  all  Jerusalem,  instead  of 
rejoicing  with  the  men  from  the  East,  are  stricken  with  fear  like  the 
tyrannical  king.  Faith  is  represented  by  a  small  company  of  Gen- 
tiles, while  orthodox  Judea  is  asleep  in  its  unbelief,  and  awakened 
in  terror  at  the  news  that  their  long-expected  king  was  born  amongst 
them.  The  wily  old  king  who  sat  on  Da\'id's  throne  sought  to  mur- 
der the  new-born  King  of  the  Jews,  but  holy  angels  interposed  to 
defeat  his  purpose.  All  through  this  chapter  we  have  the  beginning 
of  that  divine  tragedy  which  culminated  on  the  cross,  and  was  glori- 
fied by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.     The  present 

427 


428  THE  .BIRTH  OF    JESUS. 

season,  full  of  festivity  and  joy  throughout  the  world,  is,  after 
nearly  twenty  centuries,  the  echo  of  the  angel's  song,  and  the  mem- 
ory of  the  gifts  of  the  wise  men ;  for  when  we  give  oui*  gifts  to  our 
children,  is  it  not  that  we  lay  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  a  grateful  tribute 
of  gi-atitude  for  the  joy  which  his  coming  into  the  world  brought  to 
us  all? 

I.— CIRCUMSTANCES   CONNECTED   WITH  HIS 
BIRTH. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  in  this  Gospel,  which  was  written 
by  a  Jew  especially  to  demonstrate  that  Jesus  was  the  true  Messiah, 
the  long-expected  theocratic  King  of  the  Jews,  his  birth  is  announced 
to  the  nation  by  wise  men  from  the  East — that  is,  by  Gentiles ;  while 
the  third  Gospel,  written  to  show  that  Jesus  was  the  Saviour  of  the 
icholc  loorld,  the  Son  of  Adam  rather  than  the  Son  of  Abraham,  was 
written  by  a  Gentile,  and  we  see  Jesus  introduced  by  holy  but  hum- 
ble men  of  the  Jewish  nation,  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem.  This  is 
only  another  proof  of  that  grace  of  God  which  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons. The  Gentiles  shall  be  ministers  of  grace  to  the  Jews,  and  the 
Jews  shall  share  with  the  Gentiles  that  salvation  which  has  been 
prepared  from  of  old. 

1.  The  place  of  our  Lord's  birth. — The  little  town  or  hamlet 
of  Bethlehem  Judah  was  scarce  worth  a  place  among  the  cities  of 
the  land,  yet  out  of  this  small  and  insignificant  town  of  less  than  six 
hundred  inhabitants  at  the  time  of  our  Lord's  birth,  came  the  world's 
Redeemer.  If  Nathanael  asked  Philip  :  ''Can  any  good  thing  come 
out  of  Nazareth?"  some  might  ask :  "Can  any  great  thing  come  out 
of  Bethlehem?"  Long  centuries  ago  the  prophet  Micah  had  indi- 
cated to  the  ancient  people  that  this  little  village  should  be  the  birth- 
place of  their  Messiah,  as  it  had  been  the  birthplace  and  home  of 
their  great  king  David.  The  passage  in  Micah  (v,  2)  reads  as  fol- 
lows :  "But  thou,  Beth-lehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among 
the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me 
that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  of 
f  old,  from  everlasting."  Matthew  gives  us  a  free  translation  of  it  at 
the  sixth  verse  of  our  portion :  "And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of 
Juda,  art  not  the  least  among  the  princes  of  Juda :  for  out  of  thee 
shall  come  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel."  This  little 
village  was  not  mentioned  in  the  hundreds  of  towns  at  the  time  of 
the  partition  of  the  land ;  it  was  the  least  among  the  thousands : 
that  is,  among  the  villages  or  cities  where  dwelt  the  heads  of  the 


CIRCUMSTANCES  CONNECTED  WITH   HIS  BIRTH.     429 

thousands,  into  which  number  the  children  of  Israel  had  been  divided 
for  the  purpose  of  government,  Bethlehem  was  the  very  least,  and 
yet  it  was  not  too  small  for  God  to  honor  by  making  it  the  birth- 
place of  the  world's  Redeemer.  It  had  before  been  the  birthplace 
of  David.  The  worth,  dignity,  and  greatness  of  a  place  do  not 
depend  on  the  greatness  of  its  population  or  the  vastness  or  size  of 
its  buildings.  The  small  town  of  Stratford-on-Avon  is  more  famous 
as  being  the  birthplace  of  Shakespeare  than  Manchester  is  for  being 
the  greatest  manufacturing  city  in  the  world.  Bethany,  the  home 
of  Mary  and  Martha  and  Lazarus,  is  better  known  than  many  an 
ancient  city  in  which  kings  have  lived  and  had  their  palaces.  True 
greatness  does  not  depend  on  worldly  importance.  David,  the  shep- 
herd-lad of  Bethlehem,  was  the  youngest  and  least  of  the  sons  of 
Jesse,  and  not  thought  worthy  even  to  "be  brought  in  with  his 
brothers ;  yet  God  had  chosen  him.  The  manger  in  the  caravansary 
was  a  mean  place  for  one  to  find  lodgings  in,  and  yet  here  the  Son 
of  God  found  a  birthplace.  This  world  is  almost  the  least  among 
the  planets,  and  yet  God  has  selected  it  to  be  the  theater  on  which 
he  has  displayed  the  wonders  of  his  love  and  where  he  has  wrought 
out  the  mystery  of  the  ages.  We  should  learn  not  to  despise  a  man 
either  because  he  is  small  or  mean  in  outward  appearance,  or  poor 
in  worldly  goods,  nor  to  look  for  the  true  gi-eatness  of  anything  in 
the  mere  externals.  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth,  the  one  a  small  town 
and  the  other  a  village  of  vile  reputation,  are  really  the  two  towns 
which  have  received  more  honor  from  God  than  Jerusalem  itself. 

2.  The  visit  of  the  wise  men. — '^Behold,  there  came  wise  men 
from  the  East  to  Jerusalem."  Wlio  these  wise  men  were,  and  from 
whence  they  came,  has  been  the  occasion  of  endless  speculation. 
Tradition  has  determined  that  there  were  three  of  them,  and  has 
even  assigned  names  to  them  :  Caspar,  Melchior,  and  Balthasar.  It 
has  assigned  to  them  the  title  and  dignity  of  kings,  and  has  deter- 
mined that  they  came  from  Arabia,  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  India, 
Egypt,  and  even  Greece.  Of  these  particulars  we  can  know  nothing 
certainly.  That  they  were  "magi,"  or  '^ astrologers,"  or  ''magi- 
cians," this  we  know.  They  belonged  to  a  sacred  caste  of  scholars 
and  priests  of  the  East  who  made  the  study  of  the  heavens  their 
chief  occupation,  and  because  of  their  real  or  supposed  knowledge 
of  the  stars,  and  what  their  movements  portended  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth,  were  held  in  high  repute  by  the  people,  and  were  made 
the  instructors  and  advisers  of  kings.  Every  court  had  a  company 
of  these  men  about  it,  to  whom  the  dreams  of  the  kings  and  all  difld- 
cult  questions  were  referred.     (Dan.  ii,  48;  iv,  9;  v,  7,  11.)     While 


430  THE    BIRTH   OF    JESUS. 

many  of  these  magi  or  wise  men  were  but  charlatans  trading  on  the 
superstitions  of  the  people,  as  were  James  and  Jambres  who  eon- 
tended  with  Moses  in  Egypt,  as  was  Simon  Magus  (or  the  magician) 
who  pretended  conversion  at  Samaria,  there  were  among  them  de- 
vout souls  who,  from  their  habit  of  looking  up  into  the  heavens,  had 
come  to  believe  in  and  fear  God,  whom  they  perceived  to  be  beyond 
the  stars.  We  may  confidently  believe  that  these  wise  men  who 
came  seeking  for  Jesus  were  men  in  whom  the  spirit  of  Christ  dwelt, 
though  they  were  ignorant  of  it ;  men  who,  though  they  were  unin- 
structed  in  the  mysteries  of  God's  revelation,  had  yet  received  a 
revelation  of  God  from  himself,  even  though  it  came  through  a  star, 
which  in  due  time  led  them  to  the  feet  of  Christ.  In  every  nation 
there  are  those  who  have  feared  God  and  wrought  righteousness, 
and  have  been  accepted  with  him.  I  have  met  in  this  strange 
country  (India),  during  the  past  year,  wandering  fakirs  nominally 
belonging  to  both  the  Hindoo  and  the  Mohammedan  religions,  who 
were  real  seekers  after  God ;  whose  spirits  were  chaste  and  humble ; 
who  had  long  since  eschewed  idolatry  and  the  harsh  tenets  of  Islam, 
and  were  striving  through  nature  to  reach  up  to  nature's  God. 
These  wise  men  from  the  East  had  been  led  of  God  by  his  inward 
and  outward  cords  to  come  from  their  distant  home  to  Jerusalem  in 
search  of  the  new-born  King. 

3.  The  born  King  of  the  Jews. — The  wise  men  came  to 
Jerusalem  asking  of  those  whom  they  met  here  and  there,  "  Where 
is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  "  It  must  have  been  a  great 
surprise  and  shock  to  them  when  they  reached  Jerusalem  to  find  the 
entire  population  ignorant  of  the  birth  of  their  King ;  and  not  only 
ignorant  but  quite  asleep  and  non-expectant,  while  they,  who  were 
but  Gentiles  and  strangers,  had  for  months  been  journeying  toward 
his  birthplace,  led  by  a  star.  We  oftentimes  find  the  grossest  un- 
belief where  we  naturally  look  for  faith.  Jesus  found  more  unbelief 
in  his  home-town  of  Nazareth  than  he  did  in  the  cities  of  semi-pagan 
Samaria.  The  people  of  Jerusalem,  even  the  very  high-priest  and 
other  rulers,  murdered  him,  while  publicans  and  harlots  received 
him.  A  blind  beggar  recognized  in  him  the  Son  of  God,  while  the 
Pharisees  only  saw  in  him  an  impostor  and  blasphemer.  We  often 
find  the  worst  infidelity  in  a  Christian  home,  while  faith  springs  up 
in  the  most  unpromising  places.  There  was  at  that  time  reigning 
over  Jerusalem  a  foreign  king,  Herod,  surnamed  the  Great,  an  Idu- 
mean  by  birth,  though  he  Avas  externally  a  Jew.  He  did  not  come 
of  the  stock  or  lineage  of  David,  and  was  on  the  throne  only  by  the 
power  of  Rome,  the  hated  Gentile  oppressor  of  the  Jews      But  now 


CIKCUMSTANCES  CONNECTED  WITH  HIS  BIRTH.     431 

there  had  come  one  in  accordance  with  a  long  line  of  prophecies, 
who  was  the  born  King  of  the  Jews,  the  long-expected  Messiah. 
Jesus  is  that  Shepherd  whom  God  has  sent  into  the  world  to  be  the 
ruler  and  governor  of  his  people.  We  love  to  think  of  him  as  the 
Saviour  of  sinners,  who,  by  his  voluntary  death,  hath  redeemed  us 
from  sin  and  the  curse  of  the  law ;  but  he  is  also  the  royally  born 
king  of  his  people,  with  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  not  only 
to  rule  and  reign  over  them  but  witli  them  also.  He  was  rejected 
both  as  Saviour  and  king  by  the  Jews,  and  he  is  so  by  the  many  to- 
day ;  but  he  is  nevertheless  the  born  King  of  the  Jews,  and  he  will 
yet  appear  in  power  and  great  glory  and  rule  over  this  earth — over 
his  enemies  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  over  his  friends  and  followers  with 
the  mild  scepter  of  righteousness  and  peace.  In  the  mean  time  he 
gives  us  salvation. 

4.  "We  have  seen  his  star." — Here  again  we  have  a  puzzle 
which  has  given  rise  to  endless  speculation.  What  was  this  star, 
and  how  could  it  guide  them  ?  or  how,  in  the  first  place,  could  they 
know  that  it  pointed  to  the  birth  of  Jesus  the  King  of  the  Jews? 
How  could  they  follow  it  to  Jerusalem  and  afterward  to  Bethlehem? 
The  nearest  star  is  so  remote  from  the  earth  that  it  could  not  possi- 
bly be  a  guide  to  any  one  to  any  particular  locality  on  the  earth. 
Stars  indeed  may  guide  the  mariner  by  showing  him  which  way  is 
north,  south,  east,  or  west,  but  he  could  not  sail  by  it  to  any  par- 
ticular spot  except  by  taking  a  general  direction.  Eminent  astrono- 
mers from  the  days  of  Kepler  down  have  tried  to  identify  this  star 
with  some  phenomena  in  the  heavens  which  appeared  about  that 
time.  That  there  were  several  remarkable  astronomical  wonders  in 
the  sky  about  that  time  is  fully  ascertained,  but  that  any  one  of 
them  can  be  identified  with  the  star  of  the  wise  men  (the  star  of 
Bethlehem)  is  more  than  doubtful.  Why  must  it  have  been  a  star 
at  all,  in  the  ordinary  sense  ?  Why  may  it  not  have  been  a  miracu- 
lous point  of  light,  hanging  low  in  the  heavens,  first  appearing  to 
these  devout  men  in  the  east,  and  then  moving  forward  toward  the 
west,  steadily  guiding  them,  first  to  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  and  then 
to  Bethlehem?  Must  we  reject  as  absurd  or  even  improbable  such  a 
miracle  ?  When  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  the  people,  God  gave  an 
accompanying  sign  in  the  "tongues  like  as  of  fire,"  just  as  before 
there  was  a  strange  appearance  as  of  a  dove  resting  on  the  head 
of  Jesus  when  he  was  baptized  in  Jordan.  Why  may  not  God  have 
set  a  point  of  light  low  in  the  heavens,  first  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
these  wise  men,  and  then  lead  them  forward?  Did  not  God  give  to 
the  children  of  Israel  a  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night  to 


432  THE    BIRTH   OF    JESUS. 

guide  them?  Did  he  not  manifest  himself  to  Moses  in  the  burning 
bush  ?  "VVTiy  should  he  not  do  another  wonder  ?  The  whole  sphere 
of  the  divine  activity  at  this  particular  time  was  pregnant  with 
supernatm-al  wonders.  Why  may  this  star  not  have  been  the  guid- 
ing angel,  or  of  the  same  order  as  he  who  appeared  to  the  shep- 
herds, and  in  the  night,  as  he  moved  forward,  seemed  to  these  as- 
tronomers of  old  to  be  a  star?  We  think  this  is  the  more  reasonable 
solution.  But  how  came  these  wise  men  to  know  anything  of  the 
coming  into  the  world  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  how  did  they  come  to 
associate  the  appearance  of  the  star  with  that  expectation?  It  must 
be  remembered  that  God  has  had  in  all  the  ages  of  the  world  men 
in  all  nations  who  have  dimly  known  and  truly  worshiped  him: 
Gentiles,  in  whose  hearts  the  Light  of  the  world  has  shined ;  men 
like  Job,  Jethro,  Naaman,  and  even  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Cyrus. 
Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  during  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  in 
Babylon,  and  through  the  earlier  dispersion  of  the  ten  tribes  through- 
out the  East,  there  had  gone  forth  among  those  distant  nations  much 
knowledge  concerning  the  expectation  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah. 
Even  here  in  far-away  India  I  have  come  across  many  things  which 
point  indubitably  to  the  fact  that  prophetic  knowledge  of  Christ  has 
been  in  this  land  for  many  centuries,  and  not  only  knowledge,  but 
here  we  find  unmistakable  evidences  of  the  impact  of  Jewish  cus- 
toms. Together  with  this  knowledge  of  the  expected  birth  of  a 
heaven-sent  king  in  Judea,  there  was  a  longing  among  many  of  the 
ancient  wise  men  for  a  deliverer.  God  used  all  these  circumstances, 
and  by  his  Spirit  led  these  men,  in  connection  with  the  star,  to  con- 
clude that  it  was  his  sign,  and  so  they  followed  it.  Our  star  is  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  always  shining  as  in  the  heavens  above 
us,  and  which,  if  we  follow  them,  will  lead  us  to  Jesus.  God's  Holy 
Spirit  works  with  his  Word  in  those  who  are  devoutly  looking  and 
longing  for  salvation. 

5.  "  And  are  come  to  worship  him." — There  are  many  who 
make  inquiry  concerning  Jesus ;  but  their  inquiry  is  curiosity  only. 
These  men  inquired  concerning  Jesus  because  they  had  come  to 
worship  him.  The  Jews  made  many  inquiries  of  the  prophets,  and 
had  much  knowledge  of  him — more  than  these  wise  men  had ;  but 
they  never  found  Jesus,  because  they  had  no  purpose  or  desire  to 
worship  him.  Jesus  is  revealed  not  to  '^the  wise  and  prudent,"  who 
merely  desire  knowledge,  but  to  those  simple-hearted  babes  among 
men  who  long  for  salvation  and  are  ready  to  worship  at  his  feet. 


HEROD  AND  JERUSALEM.  433 


II.— HEROD  AND  JERUSALEM. 

The  advent  of  the  wise  men  into  Jerusalem,  their  insistent  in- 
quiries on  every  hand  for  the  new-born  King,  taken  together  with 
their  probably  large  and  imposing  train  of  camels,  set  the  city  talk- 
ing and  the  people  wondering.  The  news  of  the  arrival  of  these 
Eastern  princes,  and  the  object  of  their  visit,  quickly  penetrated  to 
the  palace,  and  smote  Herod  with  fear. 

1.  Herod  and  Jerusalem  troubled. — This  usurping  king  was 
yet  so  much  of  a  Jew  that  he  knew  well  the  prophecies  concerning 
the  coming  of  Christ.  He  knew  well  also  that  he  was  not  a  king 
according  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  Jewish  law.  He  did  not  belong 
to  the  royal  line.  He  knew  also  (what  was  a  fact)  that  the  Pharisees 
particularly  hated  him  and  would  seize  on  any  pretext  to  dethrone 
him.  The  news  of  the  birth  of  Christ  was  a  menace  to  him,  and  he 
was  troubled,  and,  for  other  reasons,  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  There 
was  something  fearful  and  portentous  to  them  in  the  fact  that  the 
Messiah  had  come.  Why  were  they  troubled?  Were  not  all  the 
theocratic  hopes  of  the  nation  centered  in  him  ?  Then  why  sho^old 
they  not  rejoice?  Because  they  were  spiritually  out  of  sympathy 
with  the  holy  reign  of  righteousness  that  they  knew  he  came  to 
usher  in.  Jesus  is  coming  again,  according  to  many  promises  made 
by  himself,  his  prophets,  and  apostles,  and  his  coming  again  is  the 
hope  of  the  Church.  Is  it  not  likely  that  if  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
man  should  appear  in  the  heavens  to-night  a  multitude  of  Chris- 
tians ( ?)  would  be  filled  with  fear,  even  many  among  those  who  are 
loudest  in  declaring  their  faith  in  the  second  advent  ?  The  promised 
King  of  the  Jews  was  to  be  none  other  than  God  himself  in  the  form 
and  likeness  of  a  man ;  but  the  cold  and  wicked  hearts  of  these  peo- 
ple were  not  prepared  to  receive  and  welcome  God  in  their  midst. 
This  is  why  they  feared. 

2.  Herod  plans  the  death,  of  Christ. — The  wily  old  tyrant 
recognized  all  the  danger  there  was  to  his  throne  in  the  appearance 
of  the  born  King  of  the  Jews.  He  was  not  a  born  king,  and  he  knew 
full  well  that  if  the  Son  of  David  appeared  he  would  have  to  abdi- 
cate. Perhaps  skeptical  of  the  real  appearance  of  the  new-born 
King,  he  yet  felt  that  there  would  be  danger  to  his  throne  if  the 
belief  should  get  abroad  that  Christ  had  come.  Under  a  wily  pre- 
tense of  giving  the  desired  information  to  the  wise  men  and  of  de- 
siring himself  to  see  and  worship  the  Messiah,  if  indeed  he  had  come, 


434  THE    BIRTH   OF    JESUS. 

(i)  He  sent  out  and  gathered  together  all  the  chief  priests  and  scribes 
of  the  people,  and  demanded  of  them  ''where  Christ  should  be  born." 
Here  was  a  strange  mixture  of  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  even  while 
murder  was  hatching  in  his  heart.  It  is  not  seldom  that  we  find 
this  outward  deference  to  God's  Word  while  there  is  inward  rebellion 
against  his  divine  purposes,  (ii)  The  testimony  of  the  scribes  and 
priests  agreed  that  Bethlehem  was  the  place  where  Christ  should  be 
born.  Here  was  a  greater  marvel :  that  the  very  priests  and  doctors 
of  the  law  should  be  compelled  to  testify  to  the  coming  of  Christ  and 
yet  be  destitute  of  any  spiritual  desire  for  it.  This  is  an  illustration 
of  that  dead  orthodoxy  which  in  all  ages  has  been  a  curse  in  the 
Church  of  God.  Of  what  good  to  us  is  it  that  we  know  the  Scriptures 
if  they  do  not  lead  us  to  Christ  ?  What  a  contrast  do  we  have  here 
between  the  faith  of  Gentiles  coming  from  afar  to  find  and  worship 
Christ,  and  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  and  even  their  teachers,  who, 
when  Christ  has  come  to  them,  know  him  not,  neither  do  they  go  to 
worship  him  but  only  plot  to  destroy  him  !  Again  and  again  we  see 
this  thing.  Many  people  who  represent  themselves  to  be  Christians, 
who  are  indignant  if  the  fact  is  questioned,  who  point  to  their  church 
and  to  the  fact  that  they  are  punctilious  in  the  ceremonial  perform- 
ance of  their  duties,  yet  are  the  very  worst  enemies  we  have  to  con- 
tend with  in  the  prosecution  of  our  evangelistic  work.  Jesus  in  the 
church,  Jesus  in  the  Bible,  Jesus  in  the  prayer-book,  they  know  all 
about ;  but  Jesus  in  Bethlehem  they  will  have  none  of.  (iii)  When 
Herod  had  gotten  the  information  he  sought  from  the  scribes  he 
turned  to  the  wise  men  and  made  inquiry  as  to  when  the  star  first 
appeared.  Though  Christ  had  but  just  been  born,  the  star  an- 
nouncing his  birth  had  probably  appeared  months,  even  a  year  or 
two  before,  to  these  men,  who  had  been  following  it  till  now ;  God 
having  planned  the  appearance  and  suited  it  to  the  time  which 
would  be  necessary  for  them  to  make  the  journey  and  find  the  new- 
born King.  It  was  probably  the  statement  of  the  wise  men  concern- 
ing the  appearance  of  the  star  many  months  previous  which  led 
Herod  to  order  all  the  children  from  two  years  old  and  under  to  be 
massacred.  He  would  be  sure  to  include  the  new-born  King  in  this 
M^ay  in  either  case  :  whether  the  birth  had  taken  place  at  the  time 
of  the  first  appearance  of  the  star,  or  had  but  just  now  occurred, 
(iv)  Then  the  wily  king  sent  them  away  with  the  command  to 
"search  diligently"  till  they  had  found  him,  and  to  come  again 
and  bring  him  word,  that  he  also  might  go  and  worship.  Thus  did 
the  hypocrisy  of  Herod  show  itself.  Hypocrisy  is  the  dark  shadow 
which  follows  faith.     If  there  had  not  been  true  and  simple  faith  in 


THE   WISE  MEN  WORSHIPING  435 

the  wise  men,  the  hypocrisy  of  Herod  would  not  have  been  aronsed. 
If  there  had  not  been  a  superstitious  faith  in  Herod's  wicked  heart 
(like  unto  that  which  the  devils  have),  he  would  not  have  plotted 
the  destruction  of  Jesus.  Superstition  makes  men  tremble  at  the 
presence  of  God,  but  it  does  not  convert  them  to  any  spiritual  faith 
in  him. 

III.— THE   WISE   MEN  WORSHIPINa. 

After  their  interview  with  Herod,  the  wise  men  departed  toward 
Bethlehem  to  find  the  child-King  whom  they  had  been  seeking,  and 
whose  star  had  thus  far  led  them  to  Jerusalem. 

1.  The  reappearance  of  the  star. — Whether  they  had  lost  sight 
of  it  of  late,  or  whether  it  ceased  to  shine  in  and  about  Jerusalem, 
where  there  was  no  faith,  but  only  dead  orthodoxy  concerning  Christ, 
is  not  clear ;  but  certain  it  is,  as  these  simple-hearted  wise  men  took 
up  their  journey  toward  Bethlehem,  their  guiding  star  reappeared 
in  the  heavens  and  moved  on  before  them.  Those  who  follow  on  to 
know  the  Lord  he  will  never  leave  without  a  guide  in  the  darkness. 
Perhaps  this  star  was  invisible  to  other  eyes  than  theirs ;  just  as 
many  who  read  the  Scriptures  fail  to  see  the  divine  light  in  them, 
while  others,  reading  the  same  portion  at  the  same  time,  see  the  light 
and  are  guided  by  it.  Paul  saw  Jesus,  but  the  soldiers  who  were 
with  him  saw  him  not ;  he  heard  the  voice,  but  the  soldiers  heard  it 
not.  It  is  even  so  with  men  to-day.  Some  have  eyes  and  see  not, 
ears,  and  hear  not,  while  others  are  filled  with  rejoicing  and  glad- 
ness at  what  their  eyes  see  and  their  ears  hear.  The  wise  men 
rejoiced  when  they  saw  the  star  again  which  they  had  seen  in  the 
east,  going  before  them.  It  led  them  not  only  to  Bethlehem,  but 
to  the  very  house  where  Joseph  had  removed  Mary  and  the  young 
Child  after  his  birth  in  the  Khan.  What  an  exceeding  great  joy 
there  is  in  knowing  that  we  are  being  led  of  God,  and  in  being 
brought  to  the  very  object  of  our  search  and  desire. 

2.  Steps  in  the  journey  of  faith. — We  are  told  that  these 
wise  men  came,  they  saw,  and  then  they  worshiped.  Thus  must  we, 
being  led  by  the  Word  and  Spirit,  come  to  Jesus  ;  and  so  coming,  we 
shall  see.  '^Come  and  see,"  said  Philip  to  Nathanael.  He  came, 
and  he  saw  for  himself.  But  it  is  not  enough  to  see,  even;  we 
must  worship — that  is,  cordially  accept  the  Son  of  God  as  our  Sav- 
iour, and  surrender  ourselves  to  him.  When  Nathanael  came  to 
Jesus  and  saw  him,  he  worshiped  in  a  good  confession,  saying, 
"Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God." 

3.  The  gifts  of  the  wise  men.— So  soon  as  they  were  in  the 


436  THE  BIRTH  OF  JESUS. 

house  and  saw  the  Child,  they  recognized  and  accepted  him  as  the 
new-born  King  for  whom  they  had  been  searching.  Then  they 
opened  their  boxes  or  bags  and  laid  down  before  him  their  gifts. 
These  gifts  consisted  of  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh.  It  is  the 
custom  of  all  Easterns  thus  to  present  gifts  to  those  whom  they  de- 
sire to  honor.  These  wise  men  were  honoring  Jesus  with  better 
things  than  even  their  costly  gifts.  They  worshiped  him.  They 
poured  out  before  him  their  hearts'  faith  and  devotion.  Innumerable 
ingenious  guesses  have  been  made  as  to  what  may  have  been  the 
symbolic  meaning  of  this  threefold  gift  which  was  presented  to 
Christ.  Some  have  seen  in  it  the  symbol  of  the  trinity ;  some,  the 
threefold  nature  of  man  ;  some,  the  three  great  graces  of  faith,  hope, 
and  charity.  These  speculations  are  as  idle  as  they  are  ingenious. 
Just  let  them  stand  for  the  desire  on  their  part  and  ours  to  give  to 
Jesus  our  best,  yea,  and  all  that  we  have.  Let  us  first  present  our- 
selves living  sacrifices,  holy,  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  our  reason- 
able service  (Rom.  xii,  1) — our  whole  spirits,  souls,  and  bodies,  which 
are  rightfully  his,  because  he  has  both  created  and  redeemed  us. 

"  Here  I  give  my  all  to  thee — 

Talents,  time,  and  earthly  store, 
Soul  and  body— thine  to  be. 
Wholly  thine,  f orevermore. " 


LIII. 

REVIEW  OR  OPTIONAL   LESSON. 


437 


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